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Copyright 1914 
By EDITH E. FARNSWORTH 



Published September, 1914 



SEP -b 1914 



PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO 



)ci.A:i7n4i3 



INTRODUCTION 

THE art development of the human race is a fascinating study, and 
one that has long engaged the attention of some of our most pro- 
found philosophers. Whence springs the love of beauty, and the desire 
for its reproduction or imitation in the work of human hands? The 
answer seems obvious, whether it is regarded from a standpoint interior 
or exterior to man. If interior, man is a spiritual being with power to dis- 
cern all beauty, and Nature, with her multiform manifestations of beauty, 
is but the complement of that spiritual nature, given to him to afford 
exercise for the faculties of his soul. On the other hand if the subject 
is regarded as exterior to man then the beauty of Nature must be regarded 
as the exterior objects that develop within him a love for the beautiful. 
Once a sunrise, a sunset, a flower, strikes man's inner vision and awakens 
a love for its rare appearance, he experiences the dawn of the art instinct, 
and its development is merely a question of time. 

The instinct once aroused and development begun it becomes as 
natural to seek to imitate as it is to observe. The power of the artist 
transfixes the beauty of the moment and makes it a permanent joy. He 
"carries over" the glory of today into all the tomorrows. But it is 
essential that the artist be a good and faithful worshiper at the shrine 
of Nature. Morning, noon, evening, and through the silent watches of 
the night he must reverently remain at his post. 

The aboriginal man was perforce a keen observer of Nature. He 
could be no other. Upon his observing powers his very existence depended. 
As I once elsewhere wrote : 

In the days of his dawning intelligence, living in free and unrestrained contact 
v.ith Nature, his perceptive faculties were aroused and highly developed by the very 
struggle for existence. He was compelled to watch the animals, in order that he 
might avoid those that were dangerous and catch those that were good for food ; to 
follow the flying birds that he might know when and where to trap them ; the fishes 
as they spawned and hatched ; the insects as they bored and burrowed ; the plants and 
trees as they grew and budded, blossomed and seeded. He became familiar, not 
only with such simple things as the movements of the polar constellations and the 
retrograde and forward motions of the planets, but also with the less known spiral 
movements of the whirlwind as they took up the sand of the desert ; and the zigzags 
of the lightning were burned into his consciousness and memory in the fierce storms 
that, again and again, in darkest night, swept over the exposed area in which he 
roamed. With the flying of the birds, the graceful movements of the snakes, the 
peculiar wrigglings of the insects, the tracks of insects, reptiles, birds, and animals, 
whether upon the sand, the snow, the mud, or more solid earth he soon became 

V 



vi INTRODUCTION 

familiar. The rise and fall of the mountains and valleys, the soaring spires and wide 
spreading branches of the trees, the shadows they cast, and the changes they underwent 
as the seasons progressed ; the scudding or anchored clouds in their infinitude of form 
and color, the graceful arch of the rainbow, the peculiar formation and dissipation 
of the fogs, the triumphant lancings of the night by the gorgeous fire weapons of the 
morning sun, the stately retreat of the Day King as each day came to its close, all these 
and a thousand and one other things in Nature he soon learned to know in his simple 
and primitive manner, and, when the imitative faculty was once aroused, and the art 
faculty demanded expression, what more natural than that he should attempt, crudely 
at first, more perfectly later on, the reproduction of that which he was constantly 
observing, and which was forcefully impressed upon his plastic mind.* 

Here then, we have the origin of the art motifs of the aborigines. 
The North American Indians — the Amerinds, as Major J. W. Powell 
called them — became experts in several arts and crafts, chief of which 
were those of pottery, basketry, and blanket weaving. This book deals 
entirely with the latter. 

While several tribes have engaged in rude and primitive weaving, 
the Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico weaving their cotton gar- 
ments exquisitely and artistically long prior to the coming of the Spaniards 
in 1540, it was left for the Navaho of our historic time to develop the 
art to a high degree, so that we find writers of note, and authorities, declar- 
ing that his is the best blanket in the world — neither Ottoman fingers 
nor British machines have ever produced its peer. 

The Franciscan Fathers of St. Michaels, Arizona, than whom no one 
has studied the Navaho more, assert that the modern Navaho blanket is 
not one whit behind its predecessors of sixty or seventy years ago. They 
say, in addition: "The Navaho blanket is today the only thing of its 
kind in the world. No other people, white, red, black, brown, or yellow, 
turn out a textile fabric that can be placed beside it. It is true, Oriental 
rugs are woven in much richer patterns than the Navaho blanket, but, 
while the former bewilder the eye by their over-rich and over-crowded 
designs, the latter, by their very barbaric simplicity of design and well 
chosen colors, please and rest the eye at the same time." 

Hence it will be seen that Navaho blanket-weaving is not " a lost art," 
nor are the weavers a vanishing race. In these pages I shall show, and 
with a thousand blankets selected from those made this year it can be 
demonstrated, that as good blankets are being woven today by the Navahos 
as were ever fashioned in their history, and the fact that there are over 
thirty thousand of these Indians on their reservation in this year of grace 
19 14, where twenty years ago there were less than twenty thousand, is 
proof that they are not decreasing. 

Yet the Indian — the Navaho, as well as all others — as an Indian, 
is rapidly disappearing from the land. He is slowly changing; not into a 
civilized being comparable with ourselves, but into a peculiar nondescript, 

* Indian Basketry, Chap. XII, p. 198. 



INTRODUCTION 



Vll 



in whose life aboriginal superstitions linger side by side with white men's 
follies, vices, habits, customs, and conventional ideas. Hence it is well to 
gather together all that we possibly can of his aboriginal modes of 
thought and life, his social and tribal customs, religious ceremonies, 
dances, and legends ere it is too late. In the doing of this the thoughtful 
mind soon discovers how large a debt we owe to the aborigine, and how 
far along the path of civilization his inventive genius and indefatigable 
industry thrust us. For we learn, not that "we" taught the Indian how 
to weave, but that "he" taught "us." 

In the far-away dim ages of the past when the aboriginal man was 
seeking for some means of carrying in one receptacle the several articles 
of his hunting-craft — such as flint arrow-points, lance-heads, skinning 
knives, gut for his bow, sinew for his arrows, his fetich to make his hunt- 
ing sure — and his wife desired a similar "hold-all" for her treasures, 
the basket was a necessity. The bird's nest, possibly, was the first sug- 
gestion of the basket, and bark, twigs, flexible roots, and fibre of shrubs 
and plants were woven together in rude imitation of the nest, and llic an 
of basketry zvas horn. Once created, imitation, experience, and rivalry soon 
developed the art until the Amerind became the greatest exponent of 
basket-making the world has ever known. Indeed, experts assert that 
there is not a known stitch now produced by the deft fingers of Parisian, 
London, Berlin, or Italian fingers, or warp and weft, no matter how cun- 
ning, sent forth to delight the eye from the most complicated weaving- 
machine of modern time that cannot be duplicated in the fragments of 
baskets, matting, and cloth exhumed from graves that were centuries old 
in this American land long before Columbus sailed from the harbor 
of Palos. 

Is it not somewhat humbling to our haughty pride to know that these 
"savage, dirty, loathsome, filthy, disgusting" people — with a score other 
rude epithets which I have heard applied to them — gave us the weaving 
art in such high perfection, and that we are indebted to them for all the 
useful, beautiful, and luxurious products of our modern looms? 

Prior to 1892 the modern Navaho blanket was almost unknown. As 
I shall show in the chapter on the early history of the blanket, there were 
rare, fine, and wonderful blankets made early in the last century that today 
are the envy and desire of the collector, but it was not until after 1892 
that the blanket began to be made on a large scale as a commercial article. 
Then came a rapid deterioration of the art that was as unnecessary as 
it was lamentable and regrettable, for it gave crude, thick, coarse, degraded 
specimens of blanketry to the world and thus worked the art long-time 
detriment and injury. But, like many another evil, it grew to such pro- 
portions that it became its own slayer. Out of the mere instinct of self- 
preservation the Indian trader sprang into the breach he himself had 
made and refused to buy the inferior specimens of the loom, for, as no 
one would buy them, they remained as dead and unprofitable stock on 



viii INTRODUCTION 

his shelves. The result is that, today, as fine blankets are being woven 
as were ever produced in the palmiest days of the art, and among the 
nearly million dollars' worth of blankets the United States Government 
officials report as the product of the Navaho looms in 19 13, there are 
scores, nay hundreds, and perhaps thousands, that would be the pride 
of any trained and expert collector, or grace the hall, den, library, or bed- 
room of the most fastidious, exacting, and artistic housewife in the land. 

During the past twenty years interest in the life of the North Ameri- 
can aborigine has so increased that everything connected with him has 
taken on an added value. The collecting of Indian "curios" has passed 
through all the successive stages of the popular " fad," and blankets, 
baskets, bead-work, pipes, drums, head-dresses, and many etceteras have 
each taken a more or less exalted place for a longer or shorter time in 
the public estimation. But to a comparatively limited few, who, how- 
ever, are slowly but surely growing in number, there has come a true appre- 
ciation of the marvelous work of certain Indians along the lines of textile 
and basket weaving. Upon the latter subject I prepared a popular work 
some years ago,* (now in its sixth edition), which is largely used by 
those seeking further information In this fascinating branch of aborig- 
inal industry. In the pages that follow I have endeavored to do for the 
art of blanket-weaving what that book sought to do for the art of basket- 
making. If thereby I shall bring to a larger circle of American and other 
students a more intimate knowledge of the Indian who weaves the blanket 
and a deeper sympathy with him in his life problems, I shall feel that my 
endeavors have been eminently successful. 

It will be observed that I follow the Americanized and rational form 
of spelling the name Navaho. Why people should consent to use the mis- 
leading and unnecessary Spanish form of the name, Navajo, is beyond me. 
Every stranger to the Spanish tongue — and there are millions who are 
thus strange — naturally pronounces this Na-va-'joe, and cannot be blamed. 
Yet it does give the One-who-knows the opportunity to laugh at him, and 
perhaps this Is the reason the Spanish form is retained. Were the name 
one of Spanish origin we might be reconciled to that form of spelling, 
but as it is a name belonging to a tribe of Amerinds who were found here, 
and had been here for centuries when the Spaniards came, there is no 
reason whatever why they should have fixed upon them forever a European 
method of spelling their name. 

For upwards of thirty years I have known the Navaho Indian. I I 
wrote and published for the first Indian trader who made a specialty of 
the Navaho blanket the first blanket catalogue ever Issued. I have care- 
fully watched the various developments of the art, have bought many 
hundreds of blankets, know personally scores of the best weavers of the 
tribe, and as late as the winter of 1912-13 spent over three months visiting 

* Indian Basketry. 



INTRODUCTION 



IX 



them, watching them work, engaging in their ceremonies, sleeping in their 
hogans, eating their food, riding their ponies, and Hstening to their legends, 
and the following pages are the result of this long-continued study and 
personal association. To understand the blanket aright and fully, the 
student must understand the Indian; hence my introduction in the Ap- 
pendix of much that to the superficial may seem unnecessary and ex- 
traneous matter. To the "knowing," however, I am assured that every 
line will justify its presence, and it is for these that I find the joy of 
writing. 

In this, as in all my other books, I have cared less about being thought 
an original writer than of giving all possible information about the sub- 
ject presented. Hence I have gleaned from every known and available 
source. As a rule these sources are stated, but if in any place I have 
failed to give the fullest possible credit it has been through inadvertence, 
and I hereby extend my apologies and acknowledgements and freely and 
fully express my obligations. 



Pasadena, igi4- 




CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction y 

I. Where Navaho Blankets Are Made. Navaho Houses and Their Songs 

of Blessing i 

II. The Birth and Growth of the Art of Navaho Blanket-We.\\7ng ... 8 

III. The Early History of the Navaho Blanket 20 

IV. The Bayeta Blanket of the Navaho 25 

V. Old Style Native Wool Blankets 37 

VI. Navaho and Pueblo Squaw Dresses 35 

VII. The Song of Blessinx of the Blanket 45 

VIII. The Temporary Deterioration of the Art of Navaho Blanket Weaving 46 

IX. Improving the Art of Navaho Blanket Weaving 51 

X. The Significance and Symbolism of Color in the Navaho Blanket . . 60 

XI. Dyeing with Native and Aniline Dyes 55 

XII. The Origin and Symbolism of N.waho Blanket Designs 72 

XTII. A Navaho Weaver at Work 103 

XIV. The Designs on Modern Navaho Blankets 120 

XV. Navaho and Pueelo Belts, Garters, and Hair Bands 130 

XVI. The Outline Blanket 136 

XVII. K.\china or Yei Blankets 139 

XVIII. The Classification of Modern Blankets 143 

XIX. Imitation Navaho Blankets 159 

XX. Pueblo Indian Weavers 164 

XXI. The Chimayo Blanket 167 

XXII. Cleaning the Navaho Blanket 174 

APPENDI.X 

I. The Navaho Indian 175 

II. The Religious Life of the Navaho 184 

III. Navaho Land 196 

IV. Reliable Dealers in Navaho Blankets 202 

Index 211 

xi 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

A Navalio weaver Frontispiece 

Summer hogan 2 

Winter hogan 2 

Mohave Indian vvfearing rabbit-skin blanket 4 

Rare old bayeta blanket 6 

Hopi ceremonial blanket 8 

Bayeta " chief's " blanket 10 

Bayeta " chief's " blanket 12 

Fine " chief's " blanket of bayeta 14 

Rare type old bayeta double saddle blanket 16 

Typical Navaho squaw dress of the oldest style 18 

Old bayeta saddle blanket 20 

Rare old bayeta 22 

Rare old bayeta 23 

Portion of center panel of rare old bayeta 24 

Fine bayeta 25 

An exquisite bayeta 26 

A blanket about which experts differ 28 

A flannel blanket 30 

The " playing card " blanket 31 

Bayeta blanket 32 

Red flannel blanket 32 

Old style native blanket 34 

Old style native wool blanket 35 

Double saddle blanket of soft weave 36 

Good specimen of old style native blanket 38 

Beautiful soft piece of weaving 40 

Another soft-weave blanket 42 

An excellent traveling blanket 43 

Modern Navaho squaw dress 44 

Unique Zuni squaw dress 46 

Zuni squaw dress 48 

Pueblo-made squaw dress SO 

xiii 



xiv ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Acoma squaw dress 5^ 

Rare Hopi ceremonial squaw dress S3 

Man-woven Hopi squaw dress 54 

Hopi squaw dress SS 

A Navaho weave of Germantown yarn 5^ 

Rare old Moki pattern S8 

Modern native wool Xav.iho 6o 

Dry-painting, Place and Vision of the Whirling Logs 76 

Navaho weaver at her open-air loom 102 

Ordinary Navaho blanket loom 104 

Diagram showing formation of warp 105 

Navaho weaver at work 106 

Batten stick in position 106 

Novel arrangement of the loom 106 

Navaho method of using distaff 108 

Navaho blanket of the finest quality 109 

Arrangement of threads of warp log 

Weaving of saddle girlh 109 

Manipulation of the healds no 

Arrangement of healds no 

Blanket, part diagonal and part diamond weave no 

Two sides of a Navaho l)lanket in 

Manuelito's widow 112 

Navaho shirt of early weave H2 

Elle, of Ganado, Ariz., one of the best of living weavers 114 

Tuli the child weaver 114 

Lightning design blanket 115 

Lightning design blanket ns 

Lightning design blanket 116 

Navaho blanket of symbolic design 1 18 

Diagram showing formation of warp of sash 130 

Section of Navaho belt 131 

Wooden heald of the Zunis 1-52 

Girl weaving (Aztec) 1^2 

Navaho belt weaver at work i-j^ 

Fine Germantown blanket i^Q 

Fine Germantown blanket jig 

Outline blanket i^g 



ILLUSTRATIONS xv 

PAGE 

Fine modern blanket i^o 

Representative outline blanket i^i 

Single saddle blanket i<i 

Hopi basket showing figure of Kaehina 142 

Blanket with Yei design i^ 

Yei blanket 1^5 

Yei blanket from a painting I^g 

Blanket with sacred symbols 150 

Deviation from one-color blanket 152 

Blanket showing key design 152 

Blanket with large design 153 

Navaho weaver showing " bungling " in weave 154 

Common blanket, simple design 155 

Common blanket with irregular banding 155 

Closely-woven blanket 156 

Good for rough use 156 

Double saddle blanket 157 

Standard blanket 157 

Standard blanket of fine quality 15S 

Standard blanket 158 

Blanket made by Manuelito's widow 159 

Standard blanket 160 

" Extra " blanket of good design 162 

Standard blanket 164 

Standard quality blanket 166 

Standard blanket, saddle size 167 

Standard blanket 167 

Native wool blanket 168 

Extra quality native wool blanket 168 

Extra quality native wool blanket 169 

Extra quality native wool blanket 169 

Extra quality native wool blanket 170 

Native wool blanket ' 172 

"Extra" Blanket 174 

" Extra " native wool undyed blanket 176 

Individualistic design 178 

Individualistic design 180 

Simple and pleasing design 182 



xvi ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Unique design in " extra " quality 184 

Daring design of naturalistic figures 186 

Flood of red in outer body 188 

Native wool fancy blanket 190 

Fancy blanket igo 

Native wool fancy blanket igi 

Fancy saddle blanket igi 

Old native wool dyed blanket 1^2 

Germantovvn yarn saddle blanket 103 

Germantown yarn saddle blanket ig, 

Hopi weaver at Sichomovi jq, 

Hopi weaver at Oraibi jo, 

Hopi ceremonial sash jq. 

Hopi weaving ceremonial sash jq, 

Hopi priests wearing ceremonial sashes iqc 

Old Chimayo or Mexican blanket j„g 

Rare old Chimayo blanket 

Handsome Chimayo blanket ^ 

Old Chimayo blanket . 

200 

Rare old Chimayo blanket 

Navaho woman cleaning blanket „„ 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



CHAPTER I 

JVhere Navaho Blankets Are Made 
Navaho Houses and Their Songs of Blessing 

/^NE of the great surprises to him who travels over the Navaho reser- 
^-^ vation for the first time is that he never sees villages, towns, settle- 
ments, or groups of houses of the Navahos. Indeed, he may wander for 
months and seldom see a hogaii unless he watches trails carefully and fol- 
lows those that seem to be traveled. The Navaho is not a gregarious 
animal in his home life. He wants his own about him and no more. 
Association with his fellows he obtains at the trading-store, or at the 
many ceremonial chantings, dancings, or prayers that his " singing, 
prayer, and medicine men " provide for him. 

Following one of these trails the visitor may be led into a small 
arroyo — or dry stream, and there close to the wall, perhaps, is the sum- 
mer hogan. It may be in the woods, or in the shelter of some rocks, but 
seldom in the open. 

The older Navahos tell us that in the "far-away days of the old" 
they used to live in mere dugouts, with a rude covering of a grass and 
yucca mat secured with yucca cords. This was entered by means of a 
ladder which was drawn in after use. When a change of domicile was 
desired both yucca mat-roof and ladder were made into a roll and carried 
to the new location. 

But as conditions improved, the type of dwelling correspondingly 
improved until the present forms of hogans (pronounced ho-gan) were 
modeled. The builders claim, however, that these types are sacred and are 
constructed after legendary designs. There are, broadly speaking, two 
types, the summer and the winter hogan. Both are miserably crude struc- 
tures and wholly at variance with the exquisite blankets designed and manu- 
factured therein. One would naturally think that, with the art instinct 
highly developed in one line, it would assert itself in others, and espe- 

I 



e 



2 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

daily in the structures erected for their homes. Yet as one studies the 
inner life of the Navaho he may find full explanation of this apparent 
contradiction. In the first place the Navaho is a partial nomad. Never 
until now has he really felt himself able to settle down anywhere. H 
had few or no possessions and his home, therefore, needed to be only a 
temporary shelter which he might have to leave at a moment's or an 
hour's notice. Hence, why should he make it beautiful, and have his 
heart grieved at being compelled to forsake it. Superstition also requires 
the Navahos to burn the hogan after a death has taken place in it. Then, 
too, the Navaho does not regard the hogan as a white man does his 
home. The latter lives in his house and goes out of doors as his busi- 
ness or his pleasure demands. The Navaho, on the other hand, lives out 
of doors. That is his home. He uses his hogan as a convenient place 
of storage and a stopping place, with the addition, of course, in winter, 
that it is a comfortable sleeping place which he can make warm. But our 
idea of a house being a home never enters his mind. He loves the 
beauty of the out-of-doors. He regards that as his own, and the poetry 
of his conceptions in a variety of ways is remarkably influenced by the 
glories of Nature. These, then, are reasons against the making of a 
more beautiful and permanent dwelling. 

Who but a Nature poet, even in his legends, could have conceived 
of a house (hogan) made as follows, resplendent and magnificent, as did 
the Navaho creator of the original hogan: 

The poles were made of precious stones such as white-shell, turquoise, abalone, 
obsidian, and red stone, and were five in number. The interstices were lined with 
four shelves of white-shell, and four of turquoise, and four of abalone and obsidian, 
each corresponding with the pole of the respective stone, thus combining the cardinal 
colors of white, blue, jellow and black in one gorgeous edifice. The floor, too, of 
this structure was laid with a fourfold rug of obsidian, abalone, turquoise, and white 
shell, each spread over the other in the order mentioned, while the door consisted 
of a quadruple curtain or screen of dawn, sky-blue, evening twilight, and darkness. 
As a matter of course the divine builders might increase its size at will, and reduce 
it to a minimum, whenever it seemed desirable to do so.* 

Nor is this the only gorgeous hogan of the poet's imagination. There 
are others which were the prototypes of other styles in use today, and 
also for hogans for especial ceremonial use. 

While Father Berard states that the present custom does not require 
special dedicatory ceremonies at the completion of a hogan, Cosmos 
Mindeleff, in the Seventeenth Report of the Bureau of American 
Ethnology, gives a full account of them, and they are so wonderful, for a 
wild and barbaric people, that I cannot refrain from extracting largely. 

♦Father Berard in An Ethnologic Dictionary. The Franciscan Fathers, St. Michels, 
Ariz. 




Si' :--. i , 









A 

( I'll. 


Summer 

to by A. C 


Hogan. 

X'rLMiian.) 




FiC. 2. 

A Winter Hogan. 



WHERE NAVAHO BLANKETS ARE MADE 3 

Personally I have witnessed some of these ceremonials, have recorded 
some of the songs in my graphophone, and have felt that I would like 
to give to the American civilized, Christian world, a ceremony for the 
dedication of its houses based on what I have seen and learned of the 
home-dedication rituals of these heathen, uncivilized, unchristian (!) 
people. 

Brotherly helpfulness is the rule in the erection of a Navaho hogau, 
and the assistance of friends generally makes it possible to complete the 
structure in one, or at most two or three days. The wife then sweeps 
out the interior with a grass broom, and she or her husband lights a 
fire under the smoke-hole. Then, taking a saucer or bowl-shaped basket 
she fills it with white corn meal which she hands over to the head of the 
household. He proceeds to rub a handful of meal on each of the five 
principal timbers of which the hogau frame is formed, beginning always 
with the south doorway timber. He rubs the meal on one place, as high 
up as he can easily reach, and always in the following order: south door- 
way, south, west, north timbers, and the north doorway timber. All 
keep reverent silence while this is being done. Next, with a sweeping 
motion of his hand, sunwise, he sprinkles the meal to the outer circum- 
ference of the room, at the same time in a low, measured, chanting tone 
saying: 

May it be delightful, my house ; 
From my head may it be delightful; 
To my feet may it be delightful; 
Where I lie may it be delightful ; 
All above me may it be delightful; 
All around me may it be delightful. 

Then, flinging a little meal into the fire he continues: 

May it be delightful and well, my fire. 

Tossing a handful or two of meal up and through the smoke-hole: 

May it be delightful, Sun, my mother's ancestor, for this 

gift; 
May it be delightful as I walk around my house. 

Now, sprinkling two or three handfuls out of the doorway he says: 

May it be delightful, this road of light [the path of the 
Sun], my mother's ancestor. 



4 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

The woman of the house now advances, makes a meal-offering to the 
fire, and says, in a quiet and subdued voice: 

May it be delightful, my fire; 

May it be delightful for my children; may all be well; 

May it be delightful with my food and theirs; may all be 

well ; 
All my possessions well may they be made. 
All my flocks well may they be made [that is, may they be 

healthful and increase]. 

Let me quote Cosmos Mindeleff for the remainder of the description: 

Night will have fallen ... all now gather inside, the blanket is suspended over 
the door-frame, all the possessions of the family are brought in, sheepskins are spread 
on the floor, the fire is brightened, and the men all squat around it. The women 
bring in food in earthen cooking pots and basins, and, having set them down among 
the men, they huddle together by themselves to enjoy the occasion as spectators. 
Evervone helps himself from the pots by dipping in with his fingers, the meat is broken 
into pieces, and the bones are gnawed upon and sociably passed from hand to hand. 
When the feast is finished tobacco and corn husks are produced, cigarettes are made 
everyone smokes, and convivial gossipy talk prevails. This continues for two or three 
hours, when the people who live near by get up their horses and ride home. Those 
from a long distance either find places to sleep in the hogan or wrap themselves in their 
blankets and sleep at the foot of a tree. This ceremony is known as the qogdn aiila, a 
kind of salutation to the house. 

But the house devotions have not jet been observed. Occasionally these take 
place as soon as the house is finished, but usually there is an interval of several days 
to permit the house builders to invite all their friends and to provide the necessary 
food^ for their entertainment. Although analogous to the Anglo-Saxon "house-warm- 
ing," the house devotions, besides being a merrymaking for the young people have a 
much more solemn significance for the elders. If they be not observed soon a'fter the 
house IS built bad dreams will plague the dwellers therein, toothache (dreaded for 
niystic reasons) will torture them, and the evil influence from the north will cause 
them all kmds of bodily ill; the flocks will dwindle, ill luck will come, ghosts will 
haunt the place, and the house will become batsic, tabooed. 

A few days after the house is finished an arrangement 'is made with some shaman 
(devotional smger) to come and sing the ceremonial house songs. For this service he 
always receives a fee from those who engage him, perhaps a few sheep or their value 
sometimes three or four horses or their equivalent, according to the circumstances of 
he house-builders. The social gathering at the house-devotion is much the same as 
hat of the salutation to the house, when the house is built, except that more people 
are usually mvited to the former. They feast and smoke, interchange scandal, and 

under .h°°"" ° "k^""'' ^°'' '""^ '^°"^^- P^^^-^l>' ^^e shaman seats himself 
under the main west timber so as to face the east, and the singing begins 

In this ceremony no rattle is used. The songs are begun by the shaman in a 

dravvlmg tone and all the men join in. The shaman acts onlv as leader and d"e L 

La h one, and there are many of them in the tribe, has his own particular songs, fSe' 

and accompanying ceremonies, and after he has pitched a song he listens closely to 











Mohave Indian Wearing Rabbit-Skin Blanket. 

(I'liiit" hv (k-(iri;t- Wli.irt.Mi J.iiiics.J 



WHERE NAVAHO BLANKETS ARE MADE 5 

hear whether the correct words are sung. This is a matter of great importance, as the 
omission of a part of the song or the incorrect rendering of any word would entail evil 
consequences to the house and its inmates. All the house songs of the numerous 
shamans are of similar import, but differ in minor details. 

The first song is addressed to the east, and is as follows: 

Far in the east far below there a house was made; 

Delightful house. 

God of Dawn there his house was made; 

Delightful house. 

The Dawn there his house was made; 

Delightful house. 

White corn there its house was made; 

Delightful house. 

Soft possessions for them a house was made; 

Delightful house. 

Water in plenty surrounding for it a house was made; 

Delightful house. 

Corn pollen for it a house was made; 

Delightful house. 

The ancients make their presence delightful; 

Delightful house. 

Immediately following this song, but in a much livelier measure, the following 
benedictory chant is sung: 

Before me may it be delightful; 
Behind me may it be delightful ; 
Around me may it be delightful; 
Below me may it be delightful; 
Above me may it be delightful ; 
All (universally) may it be delightful. 

After a short interval the following is sung to the west: 

Far in the west far below there a house was made; 

Delightful house. 

God of Twilight there his house was made; 

Delightful house. 

Yellow light of evening there his house was made; 

Delightful house. 

Yellow corn there its house was made; 

Delightful house. 

Hard possessions there their house was made; 

Delightful house. 

Young rain there its house was made; 

Delightful house. 

Corn pollen there its house was made; 

Delightful house. 

The ancients make their presence delightful; 

Delightful house. 



6 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

The song to the west is also followed by the benedictory chant, as above, and 
after this the song which was sung to the east is repeated ; but this time it is addressed 
to the south. The song to the west is then repeated, but addressed to the north, and 
the two songs are repeated alternately until each one has been sung three times to each 
cardinal point. The benedictorj' chant is sung between each repetition. 

All the men present join in the singing under the leadership of the shaman, who 
does not himself sing, but only starts each song. The women never sing at these 
gatherings, although on other occasions, when they get together by themselves, they 
sing very sweetly. It is quite common to hear a primitive kind of part singing, some 
piping in a curious falsetto, others droning a deep bass. 

The songs are addressed to each of the cardinal points, because in the Navaho 
s\stem different groups of deities are assigned to each of these points. The Navaho 
also makes a distinction between heavy rain and light rain. The heavy rain, such 
as accompanies thunder storms, is regarded as the " male rain," while the gentle show- 
ers, or " young rains," coming directly from the house of Estsanatlehi, are regarded 
as especially beneficent; but both are deemed necessary to fertilize. A distinction is 
also made between " hard possessions," such as turquois and coral beads, shell orna- 
ments, and all articles made from hard substances, and " soft possessions," which com- 
prise blankets and all textile substances, skins, etc. The Navaho prays that his house 
may cover many of both hard and soft possessions. 

The songs given above are known as the twelve house songs, although there are 
only two songs, each repeated twelve times. These are sung with many variations by 
the different shamans, and while the builders are preparing for this ceremony they 
discuss which sliaman has the best and most beautiful words before they decide which 
one to engage. But the songs are invariably addressed to the deities named, Quast- 
ceyalci, the God of Dawn, and Qastceqogan, the God of Twilight; and they always 
have the same general significance. 

After the "twelve songs" are finished many others are sung: to Estsanatlehi, a 
benignant Goddess of the West, and to Yol'kai Estsan, the complementary Goddess 
of the East; to the sun, the dawn, and twilight; to the light and to the darkness; to 
the six sacred mountains, and to many other members of a very numerous theogony. 
Other song-prayers are chanted directly to malign influences, beseeching them to 
remain far off; to evil in general; to coughs and lung evils, and to sorcerers, praying 
them not to come near the dwelling. The singing of the songs is so timed that the 
last one is delivered just as the gray streaks of dawn appear, when the visitors round 
up their horses and ride home.* 

Father Berard, whose knowledge is profound, and whose care in 
making assertions Is equal to his knowledge, contends that these songs 
are only incidentally connected with a ceremony of house dedication, but 
are essential to the Vigil or Rite of Blessing which is performed fre- 
quently in the same hogan, in order that the blessing may be renewed 
upon the members of the family and all their possessions. He goes fur- 
ther and states: 

Moreover, it is in accordance with good custom to have other ceremonies per- 
formed in a new hogan previous to the invocation of the house songs. In fact, this 

♦Cosmos Mindcleff, Navaho Houses, pp. 504-509, in Sez<enteenth Annual Report Bureau 
of Ethnology. 




Fig. 4. 
Rare Old Bayeta Blanket. 

(Author's Collection.) 



[Page 20] 



WHERE NAVAHO BLANKETS ARE MADE 7 

custom suggests that at times the new hogan is built for the purpose of having a 
desirable ceremony performed, For, while greater convenience makes a summer and 
winter home desirable at different points, and such natural causes as scarcity of range 
and water frequently decide a change in location, this change is at times due to an 
evil spell which may haunt a vicinity. Should this continue, despite all efforts to dispel 
such influence, a new dwelling is erected in some other locality, and its occupation 
inaugurated with some effective and purifying ceremony.* 

In Fig. I we have a good representation of a summer hogan. This 
is invariably near the cornfields or other farming place, and as conven- 
ient as possible to the sheep range. Suitable corrals are constructed for 
the care of the sheep during the night time, and where possible the close 
proximity of a spring, running stream, or pool of water is desired. 

It is in the selection of the site and the erection of the winter hogan 
(Fig. 2) that the Navaho shows the greatest care. He must see that 
there are no red ant hills near by, as, aside from the perpetual discom- 
fort of too close proximity to these pests, his legendary lore has taught 
him that it was these small but annoying creatures that separated First 
Man from the Gods. There must be an unobstructed view to the east 
from the doorway, as the beneficial influences of the God of Sunrise are 
much appreciated by the devout Navaho. 

Now the five chief timbers must be found, three of these to termi- 
nate in a spreading fork, the other two, for the doorway, being selected 
for their straightness. As there is no standard of size, the poles need 
not be any set size, but they are generally from ten to twelve feet long. 

Few white men would call the Navaho hogan beautiful, for there 
is seldom, if ever, the slightest attempt made to adorn it, yet to the 
Indian it is beautiful in accordance with his myths and the closeness to 
which he adheres to the ancient model in its construction. Strength of 
timber, dryness, warmth, and smoothness of floor, good bark and other 
material to allow the piling over it of the earth covering, these make the 
hogan nijoni — the house beautiful — of the Navaho. And surely when 
he recalls the stories of the first hogans made by the gods, if he sees in 
his own rude and primitive dwelling any of the charm and glory asso- 
ciated with those early houses he must see great and wonderful beauty 
in them. 

* From An Ethnologic Dictionary. 



w 



CHAPTER II 

The Birth and Growth of the Art of Navaho Blanket-Weaving 

HAT would civilized mankind do without its textile fabrics — 
goods woven from wool, cotton, flax, and other fibers? Imagine 
the world of today without its cottons and calicoes for dresses, shirts, 
waists, sheets, and the thousand and one things for which they are used; 
its linens; its woollens; its silks; its carpets; its manillas, and its scores of 
other materials woven into specific shapes, or in the piece for cutting out 
and making into the objects required. Destroy the art of weaving and 
in one month civilized mankind would send up such a wail of deprivation 
and distress as would resound from pole to pole and completely encircle 
the earth. 

Whence, then, came this useful, this necessary art? To whom do 
we owe its introduction? Necessarily, it is one of those arts which only 
the highest civilization could have evolved; it must have come from the 
French, the Germans, the English, or, if slightly less modern, from the 
Greeks and Romans! 

Nay, nay! 

Then it is an oriental art, brought to us from the Arabs, or the Hin- 
doos, the Japanese, or Chinese? 

Nay, it is not from these. 

It goes back to the primitive little brown woman, the aboriginal 
mother, who sought for something more than mere skins to clothe her 
helpless babe and herself when the rigorous storms of winter quickened 
her intellect through her maternal affection — or instinct, if her affection- 
ate nature had not yet evolved. 

There is much evidence to prove that long, long before the art of 
making pottery was discovered, weaving had attained a fair degree of 
perfection. Ropes twisted, braided, and knotted were used; nets had 
long been in use for carrying small objects; mats, sandals, doorway cover- 
ings, etc., were made of yucca fiber, cedar bark, and other fibers, and 
prior to the coming of the Spaniards the Amerind had found out all 
about cotton, had learned how to grow it, to card, spin, and weave it, and 
many of our museums have specimens of cotton cloth in many weaves 
secured from graves that were ancient and the objects of tradition before 
the Spaniards arrived. 

8 



ART OF NAVAHO BLANKET-WEAVING 9 

Too often have we imagined that human progress began with us. 
Human conceit does not lessen as we grow in years. This is a pity, for 
it shuts us out from closer knowledge and sympathy with the peoples of 
the past, fosters our own ignorance, which needs no fostering to reveal 
it as colossal, and, worst of all, it brings upon us the inevitable and 
evil results that always follow in the train of pride, conceit, and ignorance, 
whether these traits be manifested in a race, a nation, a state, or an 
individual. There are but few of the beneficial inventions that pertain 
to the home and personal life of mankind, the first steps of which — by 
far the most important — were not discovered by these patient, pathetic 
pioneers among the facts of human existence — the aborigines. In one 
phase of Its author's thought this book is a humble and tardy, though 
none the less sincere, tribute to the worth and work of the aboriginal 
woman. Too long has the debt been unrecognized. The sooner we 
send out our song of thanks to her — no matter how many centuries may 
have elapsed since she passed on — the better for us. Unpaid obliga- 
tions always weigh down those who have not paid, whether through 
Ignorance, carelessness, Indifference, or pride. In the case of ignorance 
its punishment is itself — more Ignorance. In that of carelessness, indif- 
ference, and pride, the law of life is that "with what measure ye mete It 
shall be measured to you again." And ingratitude ever brings its own 
special train of evils upon the ungrateful. 

It will be evident, therefore, that I propose that the weaving art 
of the Amerind shall speak for Itself to the culture of the civilized races 
of today. It needs no apology; it stands upon Its own worth. It came, 
a full-fledged art from their hands to us, and as recipients we shall do 
well to understand, as far as we may, the various steps through which It 
arduously climbed to Its present stage of perfection. 

It seems reasonable to assume that blanketry was an outcome of 
basketry. The latter approximates more nearly to natural processes, as 
in the weaving of twigs together to form the birds' nests, or the simple 
interlacing and Intertwining of vines, etc., in their wild state. This art 
once commenced, and pliable and flexible twigs once used for the weaving 
of baskets, It could scarcely be called another art that the making of 
textile fabrics followed. It was simply the merging of the use of the less 
flexible and coarse into the more flexible and fine. 

When all these processes actually began we do not know. The 
most ancient literature of all peoples took it for granted that readers 
were familiar with weaving and the varied products of the loom, as the 
art long antedated written language. When Moses was instructed to 
call upon the children of Israel for materials for the tabernacle he asked 
for fine linen and other spun objects, and we are told (Exodus 35:25), 



lo INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

"And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, 
and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and 
of scarlet, and of fine linen." 

The Navahos have a legend which claims divine origin for the art 
of weaving. It is related as follows in their "Moving Upward" chant: 

The Spider Man drew some cotton from his side and instructed the Navaho to 
make a loom. The cotton-warp was made of spider-web. The upper cross-pole was 
called the sky-cord, the lower cross-pole the earth-cord. The warp-sticks were made 
of sun rays ; the upper strings, fastening the warp to the pole, of lightning ; the lower 
strings of sun-halo ; the heald was a rock-crystal ; the cord-heald stick was made of 
sheet-lightning, and was secured to the warp strands by means of rain-ray-cords. 

The batten-stick was also made of sun-halo, while the comb was of white shell. 
Four spindles or distaffs were added to this, the disks of which were of cannel-coal, 
turquoise, abalone, and white bead, respectively, and the spindle-sticks of zigzag light- 
ning, flash lightning, sheet lightning, and rain-ray, respectively. 

The dark blue, yellow, and white winds quickened the spindles according to their 
color, and enabled them to travel around the world.* 

Sheep perhaps were the first animals to be domesticated, and in 
the most ancient literature we find constant references to them, both as 
flocks and as individual animals. The patriarchs of the Old Testament 
owned sheep by the thousands, and lived very much like the Navahos of 
today, moving their homes from place to place as their sheep required 
fresh pasture and water. They used the flesh of the sheep for food, and 
their skins for clothing and to sleep upon. Later, when the art of weav- 
ing was invented the fleeces were spun and woven, even as the Navahos 
spin and weave them today. ' A fascinating chapter could be made up in 
this book of references to sheep, shepherds, sheep-folds, the habits of 
sheep, the shearing of sheep, weaving, dyeing, etc., from the Hebrew 
scriptures, nearly all of which could be applied with truth and force to 
the Navaho shepherd as he is today. And such a chapter would help 
to give to the reader a clearer comprehension of the life of the Navaho 
shepherd than any brief and cursory account could do. 

Few biblical students think of the Navaho when reading the exquisite 
twenty-third psalm, yet few shepherds surpass these New Mexican aborig- 
ines in their care to see that their flocks are made "to lie down in green 
pastures," or led "beside the still waters." 

In their sacred songs there are many references to sheep and their 
care, and a Navaho shaman might have been the original author of such 
passages as: "Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look 
well to thy herds." (Proverbs, 27:23.) 

From the day they are able to toddle young Navaho boys and girls 

* From An Ethnologic Dictionary. 




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a 








5 


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03 = 



ART OF NAVAHO BLANKET-WEAVING 1 1 

are taught the duties, privileges, joys, and responsibiHties of the shep- 
herd. On all my trips over the Navaho reservation this has been one 
of my great pleasures, to find, in a score of instances, young lads of ten, 
twelve, fourteen years, and sometimes girls of the same age, alone, 
in charge of a flock, of a hundred, or several hundred sheep. Nor is attend- 
ing to a flock of sheep a mere perfunctory task. There is much to do 
and much to know properly to care for them. Pasture must be found, 
therefore all the good and available ranges within the area of their 
roaming must be known to the young shepherd. Water also is as essen- 
tial as grass, hence the apparently marvelous knowledge the Navaho 
youths possess of water-pockets, casual ponds, tanks-in-the-rocks, springs, 
etc. A score of times when traveling, my Navaho drivers have stopped 
the team, unhitched the horses, left me to my own devices in the heart 
of the desert, and ridden off with a w^ild whoop, carrying all the available 
canteens. In half an hour, an hour, and occasionally, even longer, they 
would return, the horses and themselves fully refreshed with the water 
they had found, and their canteens or tusjehs full of the precious fluid. 

Dogs help them protect their charge from the attacks of coyotes, 
mountain lions, and other beasts of prey, and there are few of the shepherds 
who are not expert in the use of the shotgun. They also become astute 
interpreters of weather signs; they learn to read the changing face of the 
heavens, as one fierce and unprepared-for storm might rob them of their 
whole herd. Hence these youngsters, perforce, are weather-wise to a 
remarkable degree, and they know when the time has come for them to 
move from the open plains to the foothills, and thence to the higher 
ranges, where grass lingers, and when browse can be found in the 
chaparral long after the grass has been buried by winter's snows. For 
Navaho sheep soon learn that they must not be too choice and particular 
as to their diet. They must eat what they can get, rather than what 
they prefer. 

Lambing time, too, requires no small knowledge and skill, and while 
the fathers and mothers aid at this and at all other needed times, it 
behooves the young shepherds to be ready for everything that may happen. 

Their knowledge of the individual members of their flocks seems 
like magic, for, to a casual observer, it is impossible to tell one sheep 
from another in a flock of say five hundred, seven hundred and fifty, or a 
thousand animals. Yet many a time when I have wanted to buy a sheep, 
the juvenile shepherd has first gained his mother's consent to the sale, 
and then partaken in a discussion as to which animal should be delivered 
over to the slaughter. Then, with sure and certain movements, he pro- 
ceeded to search out, find, and steal upon the selected creature, with a 
knowledge as certain as that of a mother in designating her children. 



12 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

But however Interesting sheep and shepherds may be to us, we must 
now return to a consideration of the art of weaving. That it was known to 
the Amerind long prior to the time of Columbus is as clearly established 
as any fact in history. 

The fabrics woven and used in the making and decoration of pot- 
tery, according to Holmes, consisted generally of 

the fibre of bark, flax, hemp, nettles, and grasses, which were spun into thread of 
various sizes; or of splints of wood, twigs, roots, vines, porcupine quills, feathers, and 
a variety of animal tissues, either plaited or used in an untwisted state. The articles 
produced were mats, baskets, nets, bags, plain cloths, and entire garments, such as 
capes, hats, belts, and sandals.* 

When cotton made its appearance in America is not known, yet it 
must have been quite early, for in the ruined and prehistoric Cliff Dwell- 
ings many cotton fabrics have been found. Holmes, Bandelier, Norden- 
skiold, Fewkes, and others have described the cottons thus found. At 
Awatobi, one of the ruined pueblos of the Hopi, fragments of cloth of 
cotton and agave fibre, and of cotton alone were gathered. 

When the European first discovered the American Indians of the 
Southwest he found them wearing blankets and other garments of their 
own weaving, mostly made of cotton, which they grew, cleaned, carded, 
spun, and dyed themselves. Cabez de Vaca, in his Relac'ion, states that 
he found the natives wearing linen and woolen cloths, and at one place 
fine cotton shawls, all of their own weaving. 

Fray Marcos de Nizza, when he made his memorable reconnoissance 
into New Mexico in 1538, says that the natives were dressed in cotton- 
cloth, and that the men of Cibola wore long cotton gowns which reached 
to their feet. 

When Coronado reached the seven cities of Cibola (Zuni) in 1540, 
he found the people wearing cotton blankets. Castaneda says: "The 
women wear blankets, which they tie or knot over the left shoulder, leav- 
ing the right arm out. These serve to cover the body." This is an exact 
description of the Pueblo Indian woman's dress of today. 

Later, when Don Pedro de Tobar went to explore the Province of 
Tusayan — the home of the Hopi — and the Indians barred his pathway, he 
fell upon them and vanquished them. Then they brought gifts, among 
which were cotton cloth of their own manufacture. 

About forty-five miles west of Oraibi, in the Province of Tusayan, 
the Hopis had a fairly large area of cultivable land which to this day is 
known to the Navahos as "the cotton-planting ground." 

The Pueblo Indians, in the ancient days, used blankets in their larger 

* W. H. Holmes, in Third Annual Report, Bureau of Ethnology. 




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ART OF NAVAHO BLANKET-WEAVING 13 

doorways as covering for cold weather. There was no other provided 
way of closing them. Until a few years ago doorways existed where a 
slight pole, of the same kind as those used in the lintel, was built into 
the masonry of the jambs a few inches below the lintel proper. Upon 
this the blanket was hung.* 

These blankets, however, were made up of agave fibre and cotton, 
or of one or the other alone — not of wool. For, prior to the coming 
of the Spaniards, wool was unknown in North America. 

Sheep were first brought into New Mexico by Coronado in 1540, 
but his flocks were killed after his return to Mexico. Then when Juan 
de Onate came he brought a fresh supply in which were some fine Span- 
ish merinos, and since then sheep have never failed in New Mexico, in 
spite of the rebellion which drove out the Spaniards, nomad and thieving 
Indians, drought, and famine. Indeed, for many years New Mexico's 
chief dependence was upon its sheep. We are told that "in 1822 Fran- 
cisco Xavier Chavez, then governor, better known as El Guero (The 
Blond), owned over a million sheep. These were let out on shares to 
men all over the territory. A later governor, Bartolome Baca, had nearly 
as many. An old Mexican was living in 1899, who used to be one of 
Baca's majordomos, and had had charge of 500,000 sheep, with seven 
hundred shepherds under him. All the shepherds were armed with flint- 
lock muskets, and frequently had to use them against the savages, as well 
as in keeping down the bears, cougars, wolves, coyotes, and other animals. 

It is interesting in this connection to enquire whence gained the 
Navaho his flocks and herds of sheep and goats. This question opens 
up a very Interesting phase of early Spanish and Pueblo history. When 
the Spaniards came and the Franciscans began their work of Christian- 
izing and civilizing the Indian, the roving Navaho never came much under 
their influence. But the sedentary Pueblo was material ready to hand, 
as It were, and the priests made the most of him. The result was churches 
were built in many of the Pueblos of New Mexico (including what Is 
now Arizona), such as San Ildefonso, ZunI, Acoma, Awatobi, OraibI, 
and other of the HopI pueblos. This was not done without arousing the 
fiercest hostility, and In time, deadly hatred of the native shamans, medi- 
cine-men, or priests. Again and again the Hopis rose In rebellion against 
the " long gowns" — as they called the Franciscan friars — and the bearded 
warriors of Spain. On Inscription Rock, In New Mexico, we read the 
rude record, made on the yielding but retaining rock, of the expedition 
of Don Feliz Martinez, Governor and Captain General of New Mexico, 
for "the reduction of the Zunis." Padre Letrado was slain In ZunI at 

* Cosmos Mindeleff, Pueblo Architecture, p. 182, in Eighth Annual Report, Bureau of 
Ethnology. 



14 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

the Incitement of the aboriginal priests. The whole pueblo of Awatobi 
was wiped out of existence because its leading men even tolerated and 
welcomed the presence of the padres. From six hundred to a thousand 
people thus perished, showing the extreme lengths to which the native 
priests would go to defend their own religion from extinction.* 

Added to the fury of religious superstition was the anger of free 
peoples made subservient to the domination of outsiders. The Spaniards 
were not always kind and politic in their dealings with the peoples they 
subjugated, and in their treatment of the Pueblo Indians they were espe- 
cially unwise. 

They took the calm and unresisting demeanor of these Quaker-like 
people for poor-spiritedness and cowardice. Never were they more mis- 
taken, as they found in the great Pueblo rebellion in 1680. At this time, 
largely instigated by a Santa Clara patriot named Pope — a true aborig- 
inal Patrick Henry and George Washington rolled into one — the whole 
of the Pueblo population of New Mexico and Arizona arose against 
the hated invader, with his long-gowned priests, and drove all whom they 
did not slay out of the country. Then, fearful of the vengeance they soon 
began to expect at the hands of the Spaniards, the "rebellious people" — 
nay, nay, let us call them by their proper name — these true-hearted 
patriots who had arisen in defense of their hearths, their homes, the 
graveyards of their ancestors, their cornfields, their hunting-grounds, their 
religion, their ceremonies, their honor, their families, and the preservation 
of their national existence — hid themselves on fortified mesas in the old 
inaccessible .cliff-dwellings and elsewhere until the storm should have 
passed. But the Spaniards were long in coming; therefore the fear of 
vengeance was long continued. One evil result of these constant conflicts 
and of this waiting for the avenging blow of the Spaniards to fall was 
that the Pueblo Indians were unable to care for the sheep and goats 
which the Spaniards had brought to them very early in their relationship. 
The Navahos had already secured some of these new animals. Now 
were chances many for materially adding to their four-footed possessions. 

For centuries they had been at war with the Pueblo, and naturally 
everything owned by him was regarded as legitimate prey. Doubtless 
soon after sheep were brought to the country they learned the flavor of 
mutton, and thenceforth found it easier to steal sheep than to go out on 
long, wearisome deer, antelope, and coyote hunts for their food. Then, 
too, sheep were surer of capture than wild animals. 

Nor was It alone from the Pueblos that the Navahos learned to 
steal. They had no love for the Spaniard and Mexican. How could 

* This interesting story is fully told in my Old Franciscan Missions of New Mexico, 
Arizona, and Texas. 




>, 

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ART OF NAVAHO BLANKET-WEAVING 15 

they have? The possessor of a land seldom loves those who come to 
dispossess him, and the Navahos' predatory instincts were not long in 
asserting themselves in their dealings with the newcomers. Indeed, every 
page of the history of Spain's and Mexico's dealings with New Mexico 
is interlined with records of Navaho raids and thefts, and corresponding 
losses of sheep, horses, and cattle. 

It is an interesting fact to note in passing that the Hopi and other 
Pueblo Indians from whom the Navahos stole their first bands of sheep 
now freely acknowledge that, had It not been for these thefts, they them- 
selves would have had no sheep later on. Here is their explanation. 
Soon after their subjugation by the Spaniards, who brought the sheep to 
them, the fierce Utes of the North and East used to swoop down upon 
them in relentless raids and steal everything upon which they could lay 
their hands. The semi-nomad Navahos, who did not accumulate house- 
hold and other goods as did the Hopis, though they lived in the raided 
region, were less troubled by the rapacious marauders. Hence they 
never entered into any compact with the harassed Pueblo Indians for 
purposes of joint defense, although now and again they suffered severely. 
They held their land and defied their foes, and along the valleys of the 
South of the San Juan the edges of the numerous mesas are lined with 
stone-wall breastworks, and the remains are still to be seen of many rude 
but well-chosen defenses, erected by them to repel Ute attacks. Being 
better fighters than the Pueblos, they succeeded in guarding their flocks 
and herds from the enemy, whereas the Pueblos lost every sheep and 
horse they possessed. Hence, while the Navaho sheep were originally 
stolen from the Pueblos, or captured in their fighting affrays with them, 
it was the fact that they had guarded the stolen herds so successfully that 
enabled the Pueblos later on to obtain sheep again. 

In seeking to find out from whence the Navaho learned the art of 
weaving the questioning mind naturally halts at this point and asks 
whether there is any relation between the stealing of Spanish and Pueblo 
sheep by the Navahos and their induction into the art of weaving. 

American archa?ologists and ethnologists have all assumed that the 
art of weaving on the loom was learned by the Navahos from their Pueblo 
neighbors. All the facts in the case seem to bear out this supposition. 
Yet, as is well known, the Navahos are a part of the great Athabascan 
family, which has scattered, by separate migrations, from Alaska into 
California, Arizona, and New Mexico. Many of the Alaskans are good 
weavers, and, according to Navaho traditions, their ancestors, when they 
came into the country, wore blankets that were made of cedar bark and 
yucca fibre. Even in the Alaska (Thlinket) blankets, made today of the 
wool of the white mountain goat, cedar bark is twisted in with the wool 



1 6 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

of the warp. Why, then, should not the Navaho woman have brought 
the art of weaving, possibly in a very primitive stage, from her original 
Alaskan home? That her art, however, has been improved by her con- 
tact with the Pueblo and other Indians there can be no question, and, if 
she had a crude loom, it was speedily replaced by the one so long used 
by the Pueblo. Where the Pueblo weaver gained his loom we do not 
know, whether from the tribes of the South or by his own invention. 
But in all practical ways the primitive loom was as complete and perfect 
at the time of the Spanish conquest as it is today. 

According to the Rev. Father A. G. Morice, O. M. I., for many 
years a missionary among the Denes of British Columbia, doubtless a 
branch of the Navaho family, the loom used by these western Indians 
is much more crude than that of our Navahos. It consists simply of a 
foursquare heavy frame, the warp strings being attached to the top and 
bottom beams, with no method for tightening the warp. He states that 
the only weaving they did was of rabbit-skin blankets. The skins were 
twisted — corresponding to the spinning of yarn — by first soaking them 
in water and then twisting the strips by rolling them upon the naked 
thigh. Each skin was made to yield a single band, and each band was 
knotted end to end so as to form a continuous cord. This cord was then 
used both as warp and woof, and was of the simplest and crudest kind of 
weaving, no batten of any kind being used. 

This is an important contribution to the literature of the Navaho 
blanket, for these western Denes are the original stock of the so-called 
Athabascan tribes of our American Southwest. Hence it is reasonable 
to assume that if they now have a loom superior to those of their own 
people, it was gained elsewhere. As yet the Denes of the West have 
not evolved it. The Navahos were familiar with the crude rabbit-skin 
blanket loom, for it is still to be found today in active operation among 
the Mohaves, Pimas, and Apaches. Fig. 3 is of a Mohave Indian 
wearing one of these rabbit-skin blankets, and they are by no means 
uncommon. This blanket and this loom, crude though they were, pre- 
pared them, however, for the ready and immediate adoption of a superior 
loom. Hence, just as they stole the sheep of the Spaniards, Mexicans, 
and Pueblo Indians, it is not unreasonable to suppose they stole the loom 
of the latter, and possibly compelled a captive of the tribe to instruct 
them in Its more complex manipulation. 

This loom and the varied processes of weaving are fully described In 
the chapter devoted to that purpose. 

Whether the Navahos learned the art from the Pueblo or not. It is 
freely conceded that they are by far the better weavers of the two today. 
In quality of work and excellence of design all other aboriginal weavers 




^ i i ^ ± ^^_XTJj 




Fit;. 0. 
Rare Type Old Bayeta Double Saddle Blanket. 

(l-"rcd Harvey Collection.) 
Saddle blankets arc the commonest type of Navnho weaving, tliougli speci- 
mens like the above are rarer than larger bl.ankets of the same type, and were 
nsnally made for some chief itr persoii of distinction. [P.xcE .13] 



ART OF NAVAHO BLANKET-WEAVING 17 

north of the Mexican line must yield to them. And not only is the Navaho 
weaver the best, but she has preserved her art freest from European intlu- 
ence. The Navaho is the great American conservative. He loves neither 
the white man nor his ways. He seeks to live his own life on his own 
reservation, unhampered and uncontrolled by the white race. He scorns 
nearly everything about the latter — his dress, his food, his houses, his 
habits, his opinions, his religion, his language — and merely tolerates him 
because he has to, and for the money he can get out of him for his blankets 
and the wool of his sheep, and for the guns he does not know how to make, 
yet loves to use. 

While to those who know the Navaho and Pueblo Indian weavers 
it is a commonplace too well known even to repeat, it should not be over- 
looked by the general reader that in speaking of the Navaho as a weaver 
it is his womankind who do the actual work. The Navaho man is seldom 
a weaver. Now and again one is found who is accomplished in the art, 
but this is a rare occurrence. It is the Navaho woman who chooses the 
poles and sticks for the loom, who superintends the daily life of the sheep 
that provide the wool, who shears the sheep, washes, cards, and spins 
the wool, who prepares the dyes — whether the almost forgotten native 
dyes or the easily made anilines — who conceives the design, prepares the 
warp, actually weaves the blanket and generally disposes of it to the 
trader, or once in a while to the casual tourist who "happens along" at 
the time it is ready for sale. 

With the Pueblo Indian it is generally the man who weaves, as the 
photographs of Pueblo weaving show. And it is a remarkable evidence 
of tribal habit that in one group of Amerinds the woman is the weaver, 
while in that of another, who live in practically the same region, the man 
does the work. 

In the olden time there were several traditions in regard to weaving. 
One was that it must not be indulged in extravagantly, overdone, but 
only engaged in in moderation. A ceremony for the amelioration of the 
ill effects of overwork at the loom was provided for in a sacrificial offer- 
ing to the spindle. The prayer of the gods was recited, and a prayer- 
stick was used made of yucca, precious stones (turquoise, etc.), bird and 
turkey feathers, tassels of grass, and pollen. 

Maidens, before marriage, were also kept from weaving lest they 
should overdo, but of late years this Idea of overdoing on the part of 
either married woman or maiden has practically disappeared. 

The deterioration of the art of weaving among the Pueblos and its 
improvement with the Navahos, is a proof of the unconscious exercise 
of the law of following the line of least resistance and of the power of 
native tastes and talents. It is quite reasonable to assume that at the 



1 8 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

time of the Spanish Conquest the Pueblo weavers were by far the more 
accomplished — that is, assuming that the Navahos had already learned 
the art. The Navahos, in common with the Pueblos, were basket' and 
pottery makers. The former, however, were nomads, wandering to and 
fro over an area now largely included in their reservation in Arizona 
and New Mexico. As I have elsewhere shown, this land is arid though 
not an absolute desert. The precipitation at an altitude varying from 
5,000 to 7,000 feet amounts to only 14.10 inches (or less) during the 
year, and this is generally confined to two short seasons of moisture 
separated from one another by months of absolute drought, which, except 
in specially favored localities, would destroy any of the ordinary field- 
crops. 

Naturally in such a country as this, material for basketry was scant, 
and what was found was of a poor quality. This in itself was a deterrent 
to the art of basketry, and rendered the Navahos indifferent towards it. 
On the other hand, the Paiutis of southern Nevada and Utah, living near 
flowing streams, where willows and other basketry material abounded, 
all of the finest quality, and the Havasupais of Cataract or Havasu 
(Blue Water) Canyon — living in a region so favorable to the growth of 
willows that Lieut. Frank H. Cushing, who visited them from Zuni in 
the early eighties, described them as the "Nation of the Willows" — 
became experts in the art the materials of which were so close to their 
hands. Being neighbors to the Navahos, the latter were able to trade with 
them for basket-work and thus secure by barter all they needed. 

Pottery is never much in favor with a nomad people, especially the 
crude, fragile pottery of the aborigine. It is hard to transport, and is in 
constant danger of being broken; hence the Navaho never cultivated 
to any great extent the art of pottery, while the sedentary and home- 
loving Pueblos found it a far easier task to make pottery for the pur- 
pose of storing water, corn, flour, seeds, and other foods than basketry, 
and the same instinct for decoration that had led to the beautifying of 
the basket asserted itself in the heart of the Pueblo potter, and she began 
to make geometrical designs, scrolls, figures, symbols of such great 
diversity as to be "the wonder of the world of design," whenever and 
wherever studied. Let those who deem this statement exaggerated secure 
Part II of the Seventeenth Report of the United States Bureau of 
American Ethnology, and see therein Dr. J. Walter Fewkes's reproduc- 
tions of the signs, symbols, designs, and patterns from the pottery of the 
ancient Hopi ruins of Sikyatki in northern Arizona, some of which are 
given in a later chapter of this book. In these designs, and those found 
on the basketry of the more progressive of the basket-making tribes, it 
is probable that the Navahos gained the suggestion, at least, of the 




'Hh 




Fig. 10. 
Typical Navaho Squaw Dress of the Oldest Style. 

(CollL-clidii of .1. I.. Iliiblicll.) IPage 33] 



ART OF xNAVAHO BLANKET-WEAVING 19 

designs which they have since incorporated into their bhmkets, and which, 
later, we shall more fully consider. 

It will be apparent therefore from the foregoing considerations that 
as the Navaho could barter or trade for the baskets and pottery he 
needed, and his country and habits afforded him better advantages for the 
breeding of sheep and horses than his neighbors, he gradually abandoned 
the basketry and pottery-making arts and devoted his attentions to sheep 
and horse-raising, and also to the making of blankets. 

His nomad life was eminently suited to lead him, naturally, to the 
work of the weaver. With a portable loom to weave the wool from the 
backs of the sheep into blankets, which were eagerly sought for in trade 
by other tribes, it was the most natural thing in the world for the Navaho 
woman to develop into the great weaver she has become. 

In studying the development and growth of the art, however, other 
factors than mere usefulness — highly important and fundamental as 
it is — have to be considered. Usefulness was perfectly attained as soon 
as the weave of the blanket was made perfect, without any regard to 
variety in stitch, color of the material, variety in color, the introduction 
of a design, or the attaching of a symbolic meaning to the design. Whence 
came these important factors in the Navaho's art development? 

Even the most barbaric people cannot fail to be sensible, more or 
less, to the beauties Nature presents to them on every hand. The love of 
beauty primarily comes from contact with beautiful things, and as soon 
as this love is once aroused the desire to produce its object seems to be 
almost an instinct. Hence the dawn and the development of aboriginal 
art. In basketry this showed itself in the coloring of certain splints and 
later in the use of designs, worked into the general texture by means of 
these different colored splints. The Hopi, near neighbors to the Navaho, 
in all their villages made baskets, on the two nearest mesas using yucca 
splints and on the third mesa contenting themselves with willows. They 
became experts in the use of certain dyes, and produced geometrical 
figures and designs of symbolic significance in great variety in their yucca- 
fiber placques. At Oraibi the willow splints were colored and made into 
designs copying the masks of the Kachinas, or lesser divinities, and the 
Navahos, with their wide inclusiveness as to the gods of other peoples, 
trading for the baskets of the Hopi, introduced what they knew or imag- 
ined of the ceremonialism connected with the Hopi divinities into their 
own ritual, and thus accorded to these baskets an honored place in their 
ceremonial life. It can well be seen, therefore, that in time the Navaho 
cared little for his own home-made baskets but attached especial signifi- 
cance to the basketry of other peoples, especially that which appealed to 
him in the manner I have suggested. 



CHAPTER III 

The Early History of the Navaho Blanket 

T HAVE already traced the broad and general development of the art 
-*■ of weaving among the Navahos both before and after the coming of 
the Spaniards. In this chapter let me show the condition of the art when 
the Americans first came in contact with the Navahos up to the time when 
blanket-weaving began to deteriorate. 

Long before the country of the Navahos — New Mexico — came 
under the control of the United States, stories were told, now and again, 
by that intrepid race of men, the trappers, who have generally been the 
forerunners of civilization, of Indians who wove marvelous blankets, and 
— rarer even than the stories — a trapper would buy and bring home to 
his friends one of these remarkable specimens of aboriginal weave. As 
they somewhat resembled the fine scrapes of the Mexican they were gen- 
erally termed Serape-Navahos, or Navaho-Serapes, and were regarded as 
great curiosities, and by the informed as remarkable specimens of the 
weaver's art. But, as practically nothing was known of the Indians who 
wove them, nor of the primitive loom upon which they were constructed, 
their wonderful qualities were insufficiently appreciated even by those 
who realized somewhat of their superlative workmanship. 

Josiah Gregg, in Commerce of the Prairies (New York, 1844), gives 
one of the earliest comments upon the Navahos and their blankets, viz.: 

They reside in the main range of the Cordilleras, one hundred and fifty to two 
hundred miles west of Santa Fe, on the waters of the Rio Colorado of California, not 
far from the region, according to historians, from whence the Aztecs emigrated to 
Mexico ; and there are many reasons to suppose them direct descendants from the rem- 
nant, which remained in the north, of this celebrated nation of antiquity. Although 
they live in rude jacales, somewhat resembling the wigwams of the Pawnees, yet, from 
time immemorial, they have excelled all others in their original manufactures; and 
as well as the Moquies [the Hopis], they are still distinguished for some exquisite 
styles of cotton textures, and display considerable ingenuity in embroidering with 
feathers the skins of animals, according to their primitive practice. They now, also, 
manufacture a singular species of blanket, known as the Sarape-Navaho, which is of 
so close and dense a texture that it will frequently hold water almost equal to hum- 
elastic cloth. It is therefore highly prized for protection against the rains. Some of 
the finer qualities are often sold among the Mexicans as high as $50 or $60 each. 

Fig. 4 is a blanket of this type. For full description, see page 34. 

20 




Fi.;. IK 
Old Bayeta Saddle Blanket. 

(AntliMrV (■uncctl..ii,) 



[1'aci: 34] 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE NAVAHO BLANKET 21 

When the conquest of New Mexico was undertaken the outside 
world began to hear further, and see more, of these specimens of 
aboriginal handicraft. In September, 1846, Major Emory, U.S.A., sent 
out on a military reconnoissance, visited the pueblo of Santo Domingo, 
New Mexico. He says: 

We were shown into his reverence's parlor, tapestried with curtains stamped 
with the likenesses of the Presidents of the United States up to this time. The cush- 
ions were of spotless damask and the couch covered with a white Navaho blanket 
worked in richly colored flowers. 

I have seen this very room and the blanket to which he refers. It 
was not a Navaho blanket, but a ceremonial blanket of Pueblo Indian 
weave, made of native cotton, and the "flowers" were the embroidered 
work in colors done by hand, exactly as the Hopis embroider their cere- 
monial blankets and kilts today. (Fig. 5.) 

A little later in his report Emory tells of meeting some Indians that 
he took for " Pimos-Apaches." He thus describes their spinning and the 
loom: 

A woman was seated on the ground under the shade of a cottonwood. Her left 
leg was tucked under her and her foot turned sole upward ; between her big toe and 
the next was a spindle about eighteen inches long, with a single fly of four or six 
inches. Ever and anon she gave it a nvist in a dexterous manner, and at its end was 
drawn a coarse cotton thread. This was their spinning jenny. Led on by this primi- 
tive display, I asked for their loom by pointing to the thread and then to the blanket 
girded about the woman's loins. A fellow stretched in the dust, sunning himself, 
rose leisurely and untied a bundle which I had supposed to be a bow and arrow. This 
little package, with four stakes in the ground was the loom. He stretched his cloth 
and commenced the process of weaving. 

J. T. Hughes, in his story, Dotuphcm's Expedition, 1847, thus tells of 
his colonel's reception and appreciation of several blankets: 

The chief presented Colonel Doniphan with several fine Navaho blankets, the 
manufacture of which discovers great ingenuity, having been spun and woven without 
the advantage of wheels or looms, by a people living in the open air, without houses 
or tents. Of these the colors are exceedingly brilliant, and the designs and figures 
in good taste. The fabric is not only so thick and compact as to turn rain, but to 
hold water as a vessel. They are used by the Navahos as a cloak in the day time, 
and converted into a pallet at night. Colonel Doniphan designs sending those which 
he brought home with him to the war department at Washington, as specimens of 
Navaho manufacture. 

Lieut. J. H. Simpson, in his Report on the Navaho Country, 1852, 
already takes it for granted that his readers are familiar with the Navaho 
blanket, for he says in one place : 



22 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

It seems anomalous to me that a nation living in such miserably-constructed mud 
lodges should, at the same time, be capable of making, probably, the best blankets in 
the world ! 

In 1854 Dr. Letherman wrote to the Smithsonian Institution about 
the Navaho blanket as follows: 

The spinning and weaving is done by the women, and by hand. The thread is 
made entirely by hand, and is coarse and uneven. The blanket is woven by a tedious 
and rude process, after the manner of the Pueblo Indians, and is very coarse, thick, 
and heavy, with little nap, and cannot bear comparison with an American blanket 
for warmth and comfort. Many of them are woven so closely as to hold water ; 
but this is of little advantage, for when worn during a rain they become saturated with 
water, and are then uncomfortably heavy. The colors are red, blue, black, and yel- 
low ; black and red being the most common. The red strands are obtained by unrav- 
elling red cloth, black by using the wool of black sheep, blue by dissolving indigo 
in fermented urine, and yellow is said to be produced by coloring with a particular 
flower. The colors are woven in bands and diamonds. We have never observed blan- 
kets with figures of a complicated pattern. Occasionally a blanket is seen which is quite 
handsome, and costs at the same time the extravagant price of forty or fifty dollars; 
these, however, are very scarce, and are generally made for a special purpose. The 
Indians prefer an American blanket, as it is lighter and much warmer. The article 
manufactured by them is superior, because of its thickness, to that made in the United 
States, for placing between the bed and the ground when bivouacking, and this is the 
only use it can be put to in which its superiority is shown. The manner of weaving 
is peculiar, and is, no doubt, original with these people and the neighboring tribes; 
and, taken in connection with the fact of some dilapidated buildings (not of Spanish 
structure) being foimd in different portions of the country, it has suggested the idea 
that they may once have been what are usually called " Pueblo Indians." * 

John Russell Bartlett, who was connected with the United States and 
Mexican Boundary Commission, in his Personal Narrative of Explora- 
tions and Incidents in Texas and New Mexico, 1854, thus speaks of the 
Navaho and his blanket: 

On one occasion our camp was visited by a band of Navaho Indians, four hun- 
dred of whom were encamped on the banks of the Gila. This is a formidable, warlike, 
and treacherous tribe which descends from their strongholds in the canyons west of 
Santa Fe and robs the inhabitants of New Mexico of their cattle and sheep. They 
had heard of our party, and had taken advantage of the friendly manner in which 
the Apaches came to us to accompany them. With the exception of a different style 
in their boots, and in the manner of arranging their hair, their dress appeared the 
same. Their bows, arrows, and lances were the same, and the helmet shaped head- 
dress did not materially differ. The Navahos had a very fine description of woolen 
blankets of their own manufacture, which they used to cover their bodies when it 
was cold, as well as for saddle cloths. These blankets are superior to any native 
fabric I have ever seen ; in fact, they are quite equal to the best English blankets, except 

* Smithsonian Re fort. 185$, p. 2gi. 




I- 1.;, I J. 
Rare Old Bayeta. 

(In American .Museum of .Natural History.) lP\aF. }-,] 




V\r.. i.v 
Rare Old Bayeta. 

(In .\Utni|...liuin Museum of Art.) 



tl'AGE JSl 



EARLY HISTORY OF THE NAVAHO BLANKET 23 

that they are without any nap. I ha\e been told that they spin and dye the wool, 
which they raise themselves; though others assert that the richer colors are obtained 
by unravelling fine scarlet blankets of English manufacture, tiie threads of which are 
then used in the weaving of their own. Whether this is true or not I am unable to 
say. At any rate, even if true, this forms but a very small portion of the fabric, the 
remainder of which is undoubtedly spun and woven by themselves. 

We had some little bartering with these people, giving them shirts and other 
wearing apparel for their bows and arrows and caps, and some of our party were so 
fortunate as to obtain some fine specimens of their blankets. I got a small one of 
inferior quality, but sufficient to show the style of their manufacture. 

The "Boy Scout," William F. Drannan, who published in 1908 his 
Thirty-one Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, states therein that 
in 1865 he was scouting with Lieutenant Jacobson, of Fort Yuma, in 
southern Arizona and there saw an unusual Navaho blanket. Here Is 
what he says, page 420: 

One day, while I was out on a scouting tour, I ran on to a little band of 
Navaho Indians on their way to the St. Louis Mountains for a hunt. They had 
some blankets with them of their own manufacture, and being confident that the 
lieutenant had never seen a blanket of that kind, I induced them to go with me to 
our quarters to show their blankets to the lieutenant and others as well. I told 
the lieutenant that he could carry water in one of those all day and it would not 
leak through. He took one of them, he taking two corners and I two, and the 
third man poured a bucket of water in the center of it, and we carried it twenty 
rods and the water did not leak through it. The lieutenant asked how long it took 
to make one of them, and the Indian said it took about six months. He bought 
a blanket for five dollars, being about all the silver dollars in the command. The 
blanket had a horse worked in each corner, of various colors, also a man in the 
center with a spear in his hand. How this could be done was a mystery to all of 
us, as it contained many colors and showed identically the same on both sides. 

In 1854 the Indian Commissioner's Report contained the following 
in speaking of the Navahos: "They are the manufacturers of a superb 
quality of blankets that are waterproof, as well as of coarser woolens." 

It Is evident, therefore, that over sixty years ago the Navahos were 
experts In the art of blanket-weaving, making an object "whose quality 
and artistic execution excited the attention and appealed to the esthetic 
tastes of cultured and educated men." 

These are the rare blankets of the olden days that are so much prized 
today by museums and collectors. They are practically worth their 
weight in gold. Charles F. Lummis, in his Some Strange Corners of Our 
Country, thus speaks of their rarity and value: 

The very highest grade of Navaho blankets is now very rare. It is a dozen 
years since any of them have been made; the yarn blankets which are far less 
expensive and sell just as well to the ignorant traveler, have entirely supplanted 



24 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

them. Only a few of the precious old ones remain — a few in the hands of the 
wealthy Pueblo Indians and Mexicans — and they are almost priceless. I know 
every such blanket in the Southwest, and, outside of one or two private collections, 
the specimens can be counted on one's fingers. The colors of these choicest blan- 
kets are red, white, and blue, or, rarely, just red and white. In a very few speci- 
mens there is also a little black. Red is very much the prevailing color, and takes 
up some four-fifths of the blanket, the other colors merely drawing a pattern on 
a red ground. 




Fig. 14. 
Portion of Center Panel of Fig. 13. 



[Pace is] 




Fig. 15. 
Fine Bayeta. 

(In Mftropolitan MuMimi .if An ) 



[Page 35] 



CHAPTER IV 

The Baycta Blanket of the Navaho 

T N the preceding chapter practically all the blankets referred to or 
•*■ described were of a superior, indeed superlatively superior, weave, 
and of great commercial value. I have already quoted from Dr. Lummis 
where he speaks of the rarity of these older specimens. Here are two 
other quotations, the first from his book already referred to, and the 
latter from The Land of Sunshine, for December, 1896. 

Speaking of the red groundwork of which so many of these fine 
blankets are mainly composed, he writes: 

This red material is from a fine Turkish woolen cloth called balleta. It used 
to be imported to Mexico, whence the Navahos procured it at first. Later, it was 
sold at some of the trading-posts in this territory. The fixed price of it wjis $6 a 
pound. The Navahos used to ravel this cloth and use the thread for their finest 
blankets; and it made such blankets as never have been produced elsewhere. Their 
durability is wonderful. They never fade, no matter how frequently washed — 
an operation in which amole, the saponaceous root ot the Palmilla, should be sub- 
stituted for soap. As for wear, I have seen the latter blankets which have been 
used for rugs on the floors of populous Mexican houses for fifty years, which still 
retain their brilliant color, and show serious wear only at their broken edges. And 
they will hold water as well as canvas will. 

A balleta blanket like that pictured elsewhere * is worth $200 and not a dozen 
of them could be bought at any price today. It is seventy-three inches long by 
fifty-six inches wide and weighs six pounds. You can easily reckon that the thread 
in it cost something, at $6 a pound, and the weaving occupied a Navaho woman for 
many months. It is hardly thicker than an ordinary book cover, and is almost as 
firm. It is too thin and stiff to be an ideal bed-blanket, and it was never meant to 
be one. All blankets of that quality were made to be worn on the shoulders of 
chiefs; and most of them were ponchos — that is, they had a small slit left in the 
center for the wearer to put his head through, so that the blanket would hang upon 
him like a cape. Thus it was combined overcoat, water-proof, and adornment. I 
bought this specimen after weeks of diplomacy, from Martin del Valle, the noble- 
faced old Indian who had been many times governor of the cliff-built " City " of 
Acoma. He bought it twenty years ago from a Navaho war-chief for a lot of ponies 
and turquoise. He had used it ever since, but it was as brilliant and apparently as 
strong as the day it was finished. 

These finest blankets are seldom used or shown except on festal occasions, such 
as councils, dances, and races. 

* Dr. Lummis here referred to a picture of a fine bayeta blanket which accompanied his 
article. 

25 



2 6 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

The second quotation is as follows: 

The Navaho Indian of New Mexico and Arizona cannot vie with the modern 
Turk in nigs nor with the extinct Yunca in fringes; but when it comes to blankets 
he can beat the world. Or rather, he could — for it is nearly a generation since 
a Navaho blanket of strictly first class has been created. Here is a lost art — not 
because the Navahos no longer know how, but because they will no longer take 
the trouble. They make thousands of blankets still — thick, coarse, fuzzy things, 
which are the best camping-blankets to be had anywhere, and most comfortable 
robes. But of the superb old ponchos and zarapes for chiefs — those iron fabrics 
woven from vayeta (a Turkish cloth imported specially for them and sold at $6 a 
pound, unraveled by them, and its thread reincarnated in an infinitely better new 
body), not one has been woven in twenty jears. It is a loss to the world; but the 
collector who began in time can hardly be philanthropic enough to lament the dete- 
rioration which has made it impossible that even the richest rival shall ever be able 
to match his treasures. 

There are still Navahos (20,000 of them), and there is still vayeta; and as 
there are people who would give $500 for an absolutely first-class vayeta blanket, 
you might fancy that the three things would pool. But that is to forget the 
Navaho. He is a barbarian, to whom enough is an elegant sufficiency. By weav- 
ing the cheap and wretched blankets of today — wretched, that is, as works of 
art — he can get all the money he desires. Why then toil a twelvemonth over a 
blanket for $500 (which is more coin than he can imagine anjhow) when a 
week's work will bring $5 ? You will think the Navaho is a fool, who will not 
put out his hand for hioney; but it is to be remembered that he knows you are 
one who burn your life for it. And a thousand efforts, by the smartest business 
men on the frontier, have absolutely failed to revive this wonderful old industry. 
They have at most succeeded only in getting some back-slidden marueca * to weave 
an Americanized blanket which no connoisseur would have in his house.f 

When Dr. Letherman described the Navahos as he found them in 
1854 he thus speaks of bayeta or baize forming a part of their costume: 

Some wear short breeches of brownish-colored buckskin, or red baize, buttoned 
at the knee, and leggins of the same material. A small blanket, or a piece of red 
baize, with a hole in it, through which the head is thrust, extends a short distance 
below the small of the back, and covers the abdomen in front, the sides being par- 
tially sewed together; and a strip of red cloth attached to the blanket or baize, where 
it covers the shoulder, forms the sleeve, the whole serving the purpose of a coat. 
Over all this is thrown a blanket, under and sometimes over which is worn a belt, 
to which are attached oval pieces of silver, plain or variously wrought. 

I have given Dr. Lummis's statements in full, together with both 
his methods of spelling bayetn, not only because of his great knowledge 
upon the subject, but more because of his profound and deep interest in 

* Navaho woman. 

1 1 must apologize to Dr. Lummis for quoting him as spelling the word Navaho. He is 
as emphatic in demanding that it be spelt Navajo as I am that it be Navaho. 




Fk. iCi. 
An Exquisite Bayeta. 

(Vrcman Collection.) 



[Page J5] 



THE BAYETA BLANKET OF THE NAVAHO 27 

the Indians and all concerning them. Yet I am inclined to question both 
his spelling and his information in regard to bayeta. 

Bayeta is simply the Spanish for baize, a kind of flannel with a nap 
on one side. Another authority than Dr. Lummis asserts that it was 
originally made in Spain, and was sold in Mexico as Spanish flannel, and 
by the Mexicans traded to the Indians. 

Some twenty-five years ago I found it a common article of manufac- 
ture in certain woolen mills in Yorkshire, England, regularly sold by 
Manchester wholesalers to the Spanish, Turkish, Mexican, and United 
States trade, and by these latter dealers distributed to the Indian traders 
of the United States. 

While in the early days there was little of any color but red used by 
the Navahos, bayeta was made in as many colors as there are dyes — red, 
green, yellow, pink, blue, orange, purple, etc., and there is no doubt 
whatever but that bayeta blankets liith English yarn of differenl colors 
have been made for years by the Navahos. For I have spoken with both 
Mexican and Indian traders who have dealt in bayeta of different colors 
for many years, though all agree that the chief demand has always been 
for red. 

The leading manufacturers of baizes in England today contend that 
they were never made in Spain, and "certainly never in Turkey." It is 
generally believed that the baize trade was originally introduced into 
England in the sixteenth century by refugees from France and the Neth- 
erlands. It is well known that religious persecutions almost destroyed 
the weaving industries of these two countries, and that the shrewd and 
awakening business sense of England took advantage of the situation 
by gladly offering hospitality to those whose very religious dogmatism 
and firmness made of them the most desirable kind of artisan citizenship. 
For over two hundred years one firm to which I have referred has dealt 
largely in baizes, and " Rossendale Valley baizes" are favorably known 
to the trade throughout the world. 

There is a peculiar kind of baize, bearing an extra long nap, or 
face, with a lustrous and curly finish, which is known to the trade as 
PelloHS. In Halifax, Yorkshire, England, is a lane known for over three 
hundred years as Pellon Lane, thus clearly indicating to the local 
antiquarians that a pellon mill was originally situated in this neighbor- 
hood, which today is largely occupied by the weaving intlustry. 

Traditions still exist in the minds of the old members of the firms 
whose chief weaves are baizes, with whom I have conversed and corre- 
sponded, to the effect that the woven pieces were shipped to Spain — 
never direct to Mexico or South America — and by the Spanish dealers 
distributed to their compatriot customers throughout the world. Even 



28 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

now this custom is largely followed, it being well known that the English 
manufacturers and shippers are conservative and averse to changing long- 
established methods of doing business. It would not be "good form" 
to endeavor to secure the direct trade of the Mexican and South American 
dealers who, for centuries, have been supplied with their goods through 
wholesale houses in Spain. 

From this fact that the bayetas and pellons were always and only 
secured through dealers in Spain undoubtedly sprang the impression that 
they were made in that country. 

Another thing also aided in deepening that impression, namely: 
the names given to the various colors and shades in which these baize- 
pellons were made. Even in the English trade they were and are known 
by the Spanish labels, as, for instance: Morado Subido, strong violet or 
purple; Rosa Bajo, dull rose; Oro, gold; Amarillo Tostado, yellow with 
a light brown tinge; Grana, deep scarlet; Dragon, Sajon Hermosa, and 
a score of others. 

Pellon-baizes were largely used in England in my boy days for mak- 
ing bags for carrying lawyers' briefs. England is a rainy country, and 
papers and documents that were needed in court must be carried back 
and forth, despite the weather. It was found that the long curly nap of 
the pellon threw off the rain very effectively, even when the clerk had to 
walk farther than usual. Hence when the trade extended to Spain and 
its North and South American dependencies or colonies, these baizes were 
much sought after for the making of ponchos which would shed severe 
rains and thus protect the wearer from becoming drenched by the fierce 
showers that so often descend unexpectedly in tropical climes. The open 
weave, under the long nap, also afforded abundant ventilation — a great 
desideratum in a hot country. 

The colors In which baizes and pellons were dyed prior to the dis- 
covery of aniline dyes were bright scarlet and varying shades to deep 
maroon, blues, yellows, greens, etc. The reds were extracted from 
cochineal, Spanish CocJiinilla, which, as is well known, is the female 
insect Coccus cacti, found in large numbers on various species of cactus 
in Mexico, Central America, and other tropical countries. These insects 
are gathered from the plant, killed by heat, and then exposed to the sun 
to dry. They then appear much like small seeds or berries of a brown or 
purple color, so for years were scientifically defined as the grain of the 
Oiicrciis coccifera. The essential coloring matter is carminic acid, a pur- 
ple red amorphous substance which yields carmine red. The varying 
colors produced from cochineal depended entirely upon the mordants 
used. 

A mordant is any substance, such as alum, copperas, urine, which 




I'm:. I-. 
A Blanket About Which Experts Differ. 

( \'roin;in ("ullcctinii ) 



|I'A<.K J5] 



THE BAYETA BLANKET OF THE NAVAHO 29 

has a twofold attraction. It acts equally upon the organic fibres of wool, 
cotton, etc., and at the same time upon the minute particles of coloring 
matter, and thus serves as a bond to ^v the dye in whatever substance the 
dyer is seeking to color. 

Modern science — even that of a hundred or more years ago — in 
England, combined with many years of experimentation with dyestuffs, 
had led English dyers to the discovery of several excellent mordants, and 
to these discoveries and the care shown in the exercise of the dyer's art 
is owing the superlative colors and their unfading qualities in the price- 
less Navaho bayeta blankets of the early days. 

When the Navahos began to dye wool for themselves they were 
dependent upon the less experienced Mexicans and Pueblo Indians for 
their knowledge of dyes and mordants; hence their gamut of colors and 
shades was much limited. Yet is it not remarkable that in a few years 
they succeeded in making dyes equal to those of the English? 

Blue was made from indigo, which is procured from woad and other 
plants native to Asia, Africa, and America. This is one of the oldest 
dyestuffs known, and was used to color the faces of the ancient Britons, 
Queen Boadicea being said to have stained her face with woad after her 
defeat and capture by the Romans. The indigo, however, does not exist 
in the plants as such. It is obtained by the decomposition or fermenta- 
tion of the Gliicoside iudican. It is a dark blue earthy substance, tasteless 
and odorless, with a coffee-violet luster when rubbed. It appears in com- 
merce in dark-blue cubical cakes, varying very much in the quality of their 
composition, some containing indigo-red and indigo-brown, besides 
moisture, mineral matters, and glutinous substances. Consequently the 
color varies, especially when used as dye by one who is not an expert. This 
accounts for the varying shades of blue too often found in the wools dyed 
by the Navaho, while the older blankets, probably made from bayeta 
dyed blue by the English experts, is as perfect and almost as full of color 
today as when first it came from the dye pot. 

The most popular of the reds was originally called, even in Eng- 
land (and still is) Brazil baize. As late as twenty-five years ago, "Brazil 
sticks" could be obtained in New Mexico. This is a very heavy wood, 
the Cescilpin'ui sapan, brought originally from the Orient, and known 
long before the discovery of America. It has a reddish color and dyes 
red and yellow. After the discovery of America it is said that King 
Emanuel, of Portugal, gave the name Brazil to the country on the 
Southern Continent on account of its producing this wood. It is now 
called Cesdlpiiiia Brtizilieiisis, although the best color is produced from 
the C. echinata, a leguminous tree, the heart-wood of which is used for 
this purpose. The word brazil is supposed to come from the Spanish 



30. INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

brasa, a live coal, which the color produced closely approximated in the 
mind of the poetic southern nations. 

Another red is that produced from the heart of the logwood, Hcma- 
toxylon canipcchiaiiiim, another South American wood, which contains 
a crystalline substance called hematoxylon or hemateiii. When pure this 
forms nearly colorless crystals, but on oxidization, especially in the pres- 
ence of an alkali, it is converted into the coloring matter which is the base 
for lakes, yielding violets, blues, and blacks, according to the mordant 
used. Logwood comes into the commerce of today in the form of logs, 
chips, and extracts. When the chips are used they are moistened with 
water and exposed in heaps so as to promote oxidization or fermentation, 
alkalies, etc., being generally added to hasten the process, or "curing," 
as it is often called. The resultant decoction is a deep reddish-brown 
color. 

The older dyers of Chimayo still call for " Brazil sticks" when asked 
to dye wool for a "native color" blanket, though the article has gener- 
ally dropped out of every-day commerce since the introduction of the 
aniline dyes. 

Fustic was the heartwood of certain West Indian trees, Madura 
tinctoria, giving a rich lemon yellow. Sometimes the Spanish termed it 
fustoc. Young fustic is the heartwood of a native sumac of the Medi- . 
terranean, Rhus cotbius, which yields an orange-colored lake. 

These were the principal colors used by the English in their dyeing 
of bayetas and pellons in the early days, and even now used occasionally 
for rare and special orders. But since the great chemical discoveries of 
Perkin in 1856, Verguin in 1895, and others, the aniline dyes have largely 
taken possession of the field. 

It may be interesting to the curious reader to note that the word 
"aniline" is made from annU, the Arabic, which was the original name 
for a West Indian plant from which indigo was first made. It goes back 
even to the Sanskrit, 7iila, a dark blue, and nili, the indigo plant itself. 

In the bayetas of modern make, samples of which I have before me 
as I write, there are all the original colors such as the reds, crimsons, 
maroons, black, blues, and greens; and, in addition, magentas, pinks, 
oranges, lemon-yellows, etc. Yet all of these are made from aniline 
dyes. 

Hence an important question arises in dealing with the subject of 
bayeta blankets. It must be self-evident to the most casual of readers 
that, given the bayeta, and the Indian willing to unravel the yarn as was 
done continuously in the old days, bayeta blankets of modern dye may be 
made today. 

Are such blankets made? 




Fig. i8. 
A Flannel Blanket. 

(X'runian Colit--clion. ) 



[l'.\GE 36] 



^ViSSU/wmf 




Fig. 19. 
The " Playing Card " Blanket. 

(Collection of P. G. Gates.) 



|_[\\CE ,i(il 



THE BAYETA BLANKET OF THE NAVAHO 31 

I think I can affirm most positively that there has not been such a 
blanket made for several decades. There is not an Indian trader or a 
dealer in the whole Southwest who keeps bayeta of any color in stock. 
There is no call for it. But even if there were, and the Indian could be 
found to unravel and use it, it would be an easy matter for any chemist 
to determine immediately, and with positiveness, whether the dye used 
were aniline, or one of the old vegetable dyes. 

It may then be relied upon that the few blankets offered for sale 
as old bayeta blankets, are exactly what they profess to be. Yet the fol- 
lowing is a q.jestion often asked by collectors: Is there any way of 
definitely, positively, certainly, stating what is and what is not a bayeta 
blanket? One of the greatest experts in New Mexico asserts that the only 
test is this: If a thread of a blanket is pulled to pieces and it shows a 
single strand, then it is bayeta. If twisted and consisting of three strands, 
it is Germantown yarn. 

He seemed to overlook the fact, however, that now and again — not 
often it must be confessed — a Navaho weaver would take a fine thread 
of bayeta, and, being desirous of making a thicker and heavier blanket 
than the fine thread would allow, twisted two or three of them together, 
thus giving us a two or three-ply yarn of bayeta. 

Another expert takes a piece of the yarn to be tested, sets fire to it and 
watches the results. If something occurs it is bayeta, if it doesn't it is 
something else. 

Still another expert insists that the only way to determine whether 
a blanket is of bayeta is by the feel of the strand. If it is silky and 
yet hard and with a fuzzy or rough feel it is bayeta, while Germantown 
has a woolly and soft rather than a silky, hard, and rough feel. 

Yet another determines bayeta by microscopic examination. Bayeta 
being made by machinery, he contends that it must be smooth and even 
in spinning, whereas all hand-made yarn is uneven and irregular. This 
seems to be conclusive, yet when I called his attention to these two facts, 
viz., that much bayeta is retwisted by the Navahos by hand, and, second, 
that Germantown yarn is made by machinery, and must therefore present 
the same evenness and regularity of spinning displayed by bayeta, he 
confessed that the difficulty still remained. For, while it may successfully 
reveal the difference between a native-spun and a machine-spun yarn, 
that difference does not always exist between the two machine-spun yarns 
of Germantown and bayeta. 

To my own mind these discussions are more academic than profitable. 
Chemical analysis can speedily determine whether the dye used In the 
yarn of a blanket be vegetal or aniline. But even this is not necessary. 
While it might be hard to convince another, who was not as familiar with 



32 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

the various makes of Navaho blankets, the expert can tell almost to a 
certainty with his eyes shut which is an old bayeta and which is not. There 
is a feel that reveals the old weave, and when to this is added the ocular 
demonstration of age and color, the old vegetal colors of the ancient 
bayetas toning down to the richest shades of color harmonies, one can rest 
confidently in the judgment of an expert that he is viewing an old bayeta. 

Of this character are the following blankets from three well-known 
collections — those of the American Museum of Natural History, of Fred 
Harvey, of Albuquerque, and A. C. Vroman, Pasadena, with added 
specimens that have been in my own possession for many years. 

Fig. 6 is one of the earliest types of Honal-Kladi, referred to later 
in connection with Fig. 7. Long before any geometrical or other design 
was introduced into the blanket, the attempt to beautify these chiefs' robes 
was made by varying the width of the panels, changing their colors, and 
introducing bands of color across a portion of each panel. The effect, 
though simple, was pleasing, and made, as many of these blankets are, of 
the finest material, and woven with consummate skill, they are even more 
highly prized by collectors than later specimens of more elaborate design. 

Fig. 7 is an exquisitely beautiful blanket of soft delicate tones, 
although the elaborate bands of black and white give it a striking char- 
acter. The red of the bayeta, which forms the body color of the center 
design and the outer border, is toned down to a delicate rose tint which 
harmonizes in exquisite effect with the blue and black stripes introduced 
therein. It will be observed that this blanket is woven crosswise instead 
of lengthwise. Blankets of this character are spoken of as " Chief's 
Blankets," or by the Navahos are called Honal-Kladi, or Honal-Chodi. 
The peculiar design for this weave is undoubtedly found in the fact that 
the Navaho chief or leading men of the tribe desired to have their blankets 
of a different type from those worn by the ordinary men of the tribe. 
Blankets of this character are wrapped around the body broadside, which 
shows off the stripes to better advantage than if they had been woven in 
the other direction, as then the stripes would run up and down and be 
displeasing to the eye. This type of blanket is undoubtedly from one 
hundred to two hundred years old, and when made of old bayeta and 
native-dyed and woven yarn is exceedingly scarce and valuable. 

This is one of the choicest old bayeta blankets of the Fred Harvey 
collection. 

It should be noted, however, that there is such a demand for blankets 
of this type that some of the traders keep one or more of their best 
weavers continually at work making them. They are not quite as closely 
woven as the old ones, but after they have had twenty-five years or so of 
rough usage on the floor of a living room, or as couch-covers, or in any 




Fig. 20 ( ;i). 
Bayeta Blanket. 

I .\I.-,ttlK-«s (_'.,lK-cli..ti.) 



Fig. ji(li). 
Red Flannel Blanket. 

Uratthews t ,.ll<.crinn.) 



[Page ,-?6] 



THE BAYETA BLANKET OF THE NAVAHO 33 

place where there are a number of children, they begin to take upon 
themselves the appearance of age, and then they increase in value. It is 
a singular fact that the longer they are used and the more roughly they 
are treated, the more pleasing they become to the eye. 

Another fine chief's blanket is in the Vroman collection, shown in 
Fig. 8. The body bands are white and black, with the center band com- 
posed of red, blue, and black narrower stripes. In the center of this band 
is the blunt-pointed diamond figure, with the half of a similar figure at 
each end. The upper and lower edge of the blanket has the same nar- 
rower bands of red, blue, and black as the center band. This blanket is a 
fine old specimen, and its size is forty-seven by sixty-eight inches. 

Perhaps one of the most pleasing of the small blankets of the Fred 
Harvey collection at Albuquerque is the old bayeta blanket, reproduced 
in Fig. 9. In all my experiences among the Navahos I have seen very 
few blankets of this type, one of them being in my own collection and 
illustrated elsewhere. The red of the bayeta has toned down to a soft 
delicate rose madder, while the blue of the zigzags and the smaller figures 
of the designs are as rich and as deep undoubtedly as the day the yarn 
came from the dyeing vessel. The blue of the border stripes has softened 
down wonderfully until it is almost steel-like in appearance; on the other 
hand, the white has taken a tone until it is a delicate cream, and where 
this white has been interwoven, as it is in a number of the stripes and in 
some of the small figures of the design with the red bayeta, a most pleas- 
ing effect is produced. 

This blanket is undoubtedly of the very earliest type and will go 
back fully one hundred and fifty to two hundred years, and although it 
has seen exceedingly rough usage, as all saddle blankets are subject to, 
it is almost as perfect today as when it left the hands of the original 
weaver. 

Fig. 10 is a fine specimen of a Navaho squaw dress, although only 
half of it is here presented. Generally these squaw dresses were woven 
in two halves, which were sewed together and then worn as shown in vari- 
ous pictures throughout the book in which Navaho women are represented. 
The body part of this is of black wool, very closely woven, the two ends 
being of red bayeta, with the design in very deep blue with small stripes of 
old-gold-green in the geometrical figures. This little tip of green mate- 
rially enhances the beauty of the blanket, and age has improved it with- 
out the slightest marring of the rich perfect color of the bayeta. This is a 
blanket of the type that would undoubtedly hold water. The battening 
down has been done so thoroughly by the weaver that it is almost impossi- 
ble to open a stitch of the weft to reveal the strands of the warp. 

Blankets of this type are highly prized by the collector and are now 



34 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

never made. They therefore are seldom found or offered for sale at 
any price. 

A beautiful specimen of an old bayeta saddle blanket is that shown 
in Fig. 1 1 from my own collection. The red is fairly harmonious through- 
out and has retained much of its original brilliancy, as have also the blue 
and old-gold-green of the design. It is thirty and a half by forty-two and 
a half inches in size, and its weight is nearly two pounds. It has no other 
colors than red, blue, and green, though there are a few touches and out- 
lines in white. The groundwork is red, while the zigzag of the larger 
design is in old-gold-green and blue, the former being outside. The inner 
designs alternate between green and blue, while some of them contain 
both colors with touches of white. 

The brilliancy of the color of the blanket as a whole has deceived 
several into believing it was not an old bayeta, yet on careful examination 
there can be no question of its age. Fortunately, I know its history. It 
was purchased by an army officer who was in the Navaho country in the 
early fifties; hence it could not possibly be any other than an old bayeta, 
or a native-dyed, native-wool blanket, and the Navahos never made so 
brilliant a red with any of the dyes they were then accustomed to use. 

Of greater age still, though entirely different in appearance, is Fig. 4. 
It is thirty by forty-eight inches in size, and the only colors are red and 
blue, with considerable of the design (about one-fourth) in white. The 
red has toned down to a soft and delightful shade of plum red, that is 
alluring and restful to the eye. It is of much finer weave, though of s'un- 
pler design than Fig. 11. I secured it in the following unromantic way: 
On one of my exploring trips in New Mexico I came to an old Mexican 
jacal. It was getting late at night, raining and cold. My horses were 
anxious to stop and so was I, so I asked permission to bring my blankets 
into the rude hut, and place my horses in the scant shelter of the corral. 
I slept on the floor, cooked my frugal breakfast in the morning, which I 
prevailed upon my host and hostess to share with me, and then went out 
into the wet and filthy corral to harness up. Here, kicking about in the 
dirt, and thick with the accumulated muck of the corral, superposed upon 
the horse-sweat of many long rides, was something that at first I took for 
a gunny sack. Preferring its dirt to axle-grease, I picked it up to take 
hold of the wagon-nut as I greased the axle of my buggy. To my surprise 
I found it to be a saddle-blanket. With the instinct of the collector always 
alert, I asked the old man if he would let me have it, and for how much. 
He laughed at my paying him anything for it; said he had used it as a 
saddle-blanket ever since he had been married; that it was worthless, 
and that, if I insisted upon paying for it, fifty cents would be far more 
than it was worth. I threw it Into the conveyance and forgot all about 




Old Style Native Blanket. 



[Page 37] 




Fig. 23. 
Old Style Native Wool Blanket. 

(In Anitrican Miiseiiiii nf Natural History.) 



[Page 37] 



THE BAYETA BLANKET OF THE NAVAHO ^s 

it, packing it up and sending it home with other "trash" as early as 
possible. Some weeks after, when I returned home, I soaked it in strong 
amole-suds for days, possibly two or three weeks, scrubbing, working, and 
rinsing it again and again. Slowly there emerged from the filthy water 
this blanket, and after a score or more of "cleanings," and a final rinse 
and hanging on the line to dry, my delight can be Imagined when this 
exquisite specimen of the art came into full view. It has been badly abused, 
but Is still in fair condition, and is a joy to all connoisseurs. When I 
realized its value, and saw my old Mexican friend again, I tried to give 
him further compensation, but, though poor, he was proud, and anyway, 
"had I not already paid him for it?" It required some diplomacy and 
tact to get him to accept even a parting present, but this was essential 
for the peace of my own mind. From what he and his wife said of it I 
can well believe that this must have been fully one hundred and fifty to 
two hundred years old. Its weight is nearly two pounds, and several times 
I have been offered in the neighborhood of three hundred dollars for It. 

Fig. 12 Is of a rare old bayeta, with body of red, with the design 
In white and old-gold-green. This Is one of a collection of twent)'-two of 
the finest bayetas procurable, sold by A. C. Vroman, of Pasadena, Cali- 
fornia, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Museum 
of Natural History in New York. These were equally divided and there 
are eleven of them in each museum. Fig. 12 being In the latter. 

Fig. 13 Is of another bayeta of the Vroman collection. The main 
body of the blanket is in the shade known as old rose. The steps of the 
border are In white and black and the color effect Is exquisite. Mr. Vro- 
man regarded this as the finest blanket he was ever able to secure, and 
on one occasion he refused an offer of five hundred dollars for it. It is 
now hanging over the door of the Metropolitan Museum in New York. 

Fig. 14 is a portion of the center panel of Fig. 13, clearly showing 
the perfection of the weave. 

Another of the Vroman bayetas, now in the Metropolitan Museum, 
Is Fig. 15. The body of this blanket Is In soft rose red, the center of the 
diamond in the center panel, however, being of a rich bright red. The 
other colors of the diamond are red and old-gold-green. The waving 
lines at top and bottom are in white, with blue and green, while the two 
inner waving lines are of blue and green without the white. 

Fig. 16 is of an exquisite and delicate bayeta, the property of Mr. 
Vroman. It is mainly of white, with stripes and connected-diamonds In 
red and deep blue, with a little rich old-gold-green here and there. 

Fig. 17 Is of a blanket in the Vroman collection about which experts 
differ. Some term it a bayeta and others say the body is made from red 
flannel, unraveled and rewoven without being respun. Red flannel and 



36 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

red baize are merely two brands of the same thing, though of different 
qualities. Had the weave been finer and the yarn tighter this would have 
been bayeta. As it is, it is doubtless correct to call it flannel. The design 
is in dark blue and green, though in the zigzags in the center of each 
diamond a little yellow is introduced. The blanket is of good size^ fifty- 
four by seventy-eight inches. 

Another blanket of the same general characteristics is shown in 
Fig. 1 8. This is of the same "flannelly" texture, the main body being 
in red, with the waving-stepped-lines in black and white. 

A blanket that has become world-famous in a rather remarkable 
way is that pictured in Fig. 19. Some years ago Mr. Vroman desired 
to present a novel set of playing-cards to the world. On the corner of 
each card he had a beautiful engraving of a western scene, and all the 
backs were adorned with a reproduction, in colors, of this design. It is a 
small but very fine bayeta, the body in red, and it was purchased by Mr. 
Vroman in New Mexico, at the little Mexican hamlet of San Rafael. It 
is now in the P. G. Gates collection. 

Fig. 20 is of a hay eta blanket in the Matthews collection.* It is 
of the type designated by Father Berard, as honalchodi, and commonly 
referred to in the trade as a Chief's blanket. Elsewhere I have explained 
why these were woven broad size instead of long side on. The design 
of this blanket is antique and it is made entirely of native dyed wool and 
bayeta. It is six feet six inches by five feet three inches in size, and its 
colors are black, white, dark blue, and the red of the bayeta, and — in a 
portion of the stair-like figures — a pale blue. 

Fig. 21 is of another Matthews blanket of a tufted character, "of a 
kind not common," he says, "having much the appearance of an Oriental 
rug"; it is made of shredded red flannel, with a few simple figures in yel- 
low, dark blue, and green. 

* This collection was made by Dr. Washington Matthews while he was stationed in New 
Mexico. His authoritative works on the Navaho are largely quoted from elsewhere in these 
pages. 




Fic. 24. 

Double Saddle Blanket of Soft Weave, Native Colors 

and Native Wool. 

(Autlior'b LolKcli.m.) [Pace 37] 



CHAPTER V 

Old Slyle Native Jf'ool Blankets 

'IT/'HILE in the main all I shall say in a following chapter on the tem- 
porary deterioration of the art of weaving among the Navahos is 
correct, there were a few stalwart weavers who refused to lower their 
standard and who continued to do excellent work. It was from these 
weavers that the later bayeta, and the best of the earlier Germantown 
blankets came. At the same time a few of them began the weaving of a 
less closely spun yarn into a softer, and more clinging type of blanket, 
that was better adapted for use as a personal wrap or sleeping blanket 
than were the tightly spun, tightly woven fabrics. 

From this date, or epoch, there comes to us, therefore, a rarely 
found soft, yielding, pliable blanket, of native wool and generally of 
native dyes, now and again mixed with a little soft woven Germantown 
yarn, and occasionally with an admixture of native yarn, dyed with aniline 
dyes, but all choice, beautiful, artistic, and highly desirable specimens. 

Among the earliest of this class that I was able to secure is Fig. 
22. I bought it some twenty-two years ago from an old man in New 
Mexico. It was in a somewhat dilapidated condition, and the owner said 
he had possessed it over sixty years. Consequently it is of native dye, wool 
warp, and native wool throughout. 

Fig. 23 is of similar type, though far more ornate and beautiful in 
design and of much finer texture and weave. It is in the American 
Museum of Natural History, New York. 

Another rare and beautiful specimen — indeed In color scheme it is 
one of the most charming blankets I have ever seen — is of double saddle- 
blanket size, which I secured several years ago, shown in Fig. 24. The 
main body is red, with stepped diamond designs of which the outer lines 
are black and the inner ones a peculiar yellow. The bars are in grays 
of several shades, with a pale violet, doubtless secured from berry juice. 
The whole piece has toned down to a restful and attractive softness, and 
it is much admired by all who see it. 

One of the best blankets of this type I think I have ever seen is 
Fig. 25. This I purchased over twenty years ago on the reservation, 
and it was an old blanket then. It is of ordinary double saddle-blanket 
size, the body in red, while the lighter stripes, as shown in the engraving, 
are of a faded pink, or old rose, the dividing lines being in light green 

37 



38 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

and orange. The serrated diamonds are in red with the lines in old- 
gold-green and deep blue. The waving lines are in orange and green. 
The blanket weighs a little over two pounds and is a much-treasured speci- 
men of a kind now very seldom seen, except in the collections of museums 
or connoisseurs. 

Two other choice blankets in my own collection, made about this 
time are worthy of especial note. Fig. 26 is a beautiful, soft piece 
of weaving, six feet six inches by four feet six inches in size, the body of 
dark gray, the eight hourglass designs in black and red, and the serrated 
waves in white and black, outlined in red. The step designs at each end 
are in red and white. The dark gray of the major portion of the blanket 
makes a remarkably pleasing background and there is enough of color 
and design to lighten it up. The weave is rather coarse and not too 
tightly battened down, hence the blanket is one that can be used as a 
traveling rug or a bed cover with advantage. It has been in constant 
use as a lounge cover for several years. 

Another blanket of similar soft quality and adaptability for real use 
as a blanket is Fig. 27. The color scheme, however, is entirely differ- 
ent. It is the same width, but about six inches shorter. The body is 
in white, with design in red and a pale green, so pale indeed, that it can 
only be called a shade or tone rather than a color. 

A soft beautiful blanket is shown in Fig. 28. This Is coarsely and 
loosely woven, but it has extra strong wool warp, and has a body of 
white. The stripe-colors are black and deep blue, red and old-gold-green, 
while the Greek key design is in red, with a filler of white and a light 
shade of brown. All the colors seem to be native dye, but the blanket 
has been washed several times, and from the Greek key of the upper and 
lower border, which is of a deeper red than elsewhere in the blanket, the 
color has "run" somewhat and slightly stained the surrounding white. 
Nowhere else has the color run, hence the assumption either that the 
wool for this red was colored with aniline dye, or a strong native red 
was used with insufficient, or not strong enough, mordant to hold the color. 

It will be observed that the design is irregular, and the measure- 
ments of the upper and lower thirds of the blanket materially differ, yet, 
in spite of these facts, I have always been very appreciative of it, and 
for years have used it over the foot of my own bed. It makes an excel- 
lent traveling blanket, or steamboat rug. 

In this type, as in all other Navaho t)'pes, the constant surprise of the 
careful observer is the great variety of color and design. Every collection 
is sure to contain specimens utterly unlike those gathered by other col- 
lectors of many years' experience, and the variety is the ever-increasing 
wonder of the student. 




A Good Specimen of an Old Style Native Blanket. 

(Author's Collection. I I Page 37} 



CHAPTER VI 

Navaho and Pueblo Sqiiazv Dresses 

TT IS natural to assume that the earliest products of the Navaho woman's 
loom were used for the clothing of herself and her children — espe- 
cially the girls, who were more often left to her care, while the boys 
would go off hunting with the father. 

The first squaw dresses that were woven were undoubtedly of the 
native wool of the sheep, undyed, hence must have been either white, 
black, brown, or gray. Tradition bears out this statement. The Pueblo 
Indians had been weaving their blankets for centuries, doubtless, from 
cotton, and still continued to do so, though they also introduced wool as 
soon as the Spaniards taught them its value. Hence it is quite possible 
that, for a time at least, the Pueblo and Navaho squaw dresses were 
somewhat similar in color and weave. 

Then some one introduced variations of color in their most simple 
form, viz., by alternating bands of black and white, or black, white, and 
gray, which latter is an admixture of the two former. When dyes were 
introduced by the Mexicans or Spaniards among the Pueblo Indians, or 
became common, color began to appear even in Navaho weaving, and at 
about this time the Navaho squaw dress (perhaps as early as 250 years 
ago) took on the distinguishing and marked characteristics which It has 
borne up to the present. It Is now, unfortunately, about to disappear 
from the world. For let me here anticipate somewhat and state that the 
strikingly individualistic, exquisitely well-woven, and attractive squaw 
dresses that for a century or more have delighted the eye of every white 
man who has ever carefully observed them, are no longer woven, no 
longer worn, and are absolutely not obtainable anywhere, at any price, 
save from the collectors and dealers who were fortunate enough to secure 
a few before they finally disappeared. They are now almost as rare as 
fine old bayetas, and less often seen, for there seems to be fewer of them, 
those that were woven having been worn until they fell to pieces. 

The red bayeta was undoubtedly the first touch of color introduced 
into these dresses. It is a part of the romance of commercialism that the 
development of the art of dyeing and consequent enlargement of the 
artistic faculty in designing and weaving blankets of extraordinary pat- 

39 



40 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

terns among the Navahos should have sprung from the introduction of a 
peculiarly woven and finished red cloth (bayeta) from the mills of the 
north of England. 

When by theft, barter, or purchase the Navahos secured their first 
bayeta we do not know, and it would be interesting could we penetrate 
the secrets of the past and discover by what mental processes, or by what 
accident, the Navaho weaver was first led to unravel a piece of bayeta, 
respin it, and reweave it into her own fabric. This respinning was done 
for two purposes. Sometimes in unraveling the yarn became somewhat 
untwisted, and it was essential to respin it to give it proper strength for 
weaving. Again, the weaver desired a finer thread and a tighter texture 
than the piece of English woven "baize," hence she respun the yarn to 
give her the desired results. 

In time a third idea sprang up. A coarser thread was sometimes 
desired, so the bayeta yarn was doubled, or even trebled, to produce the 
thicker yarn. 

Now the Navaho woman was ready to introduce red — the symbolic 
color of the blessed sunshine — into her dresses. At first it is very possi- 
ble this was done in alternate stripes. Indeed, by my side, on the floor 
in my library, as I now write, I have a squaw dress (of a later date, how- 
ever), which is made of alternate stripes of red, black, and gray. And in 
the hall close by is another squaw dress, of Hopi weave, 63x44 inches in 
size (hence made for a very rotund-formed woman), of black, gray, red, 
and deep blue stripes of irregular width. And I also find in my collection 
of Navaho squaw dresses an old one of this very type. 

Then the creating genius was found who designed, or accidentally 
hit upon the exact combination that took the Navaho fancy, so that it 
established a fashion which has met with but slight changes during a full 
century or more. Broadly speaking, this fortuitous combination is a body 
of black — the blacker the better — with a broad red band at top and 
bottom, into which some geometrical design in black or deepest blue is 
worked, the red border finally edged with a narrow strip of deepest blue 
or black. 

Fig. 10 is of a rare old specimen of this character from the private 
collection of John Lorenzo Hubbell, of Ganado. He tells me that for 
a dozen years or more scarcely an old piece of this character has passed 
through his hands. It is beautifully woven and the red is a rich bayeta, 
dyed in the best fashion of the England of a century or more ago. It is 
fully described on page 33. 

In my own collection I have many somewhat similar specimens, 
though not quite so fine, in which the design is a little different. This, 
and the difference in size are practically the only variants. These are all 




Fic. 26. 
A Beautiful Soft Piece of Weaving. 

(Author's Colkcliuii.) 



[I'AGE j8] 



NAVAHO AND PUEBLO SQUAW DRESSES 41 

woven in two pieces, which are then sewed together, and worn as else- 
where described and pictured. 

A little later, however, a few weavers made their dresses in one 
piece, and I have several specimens of this type. In the last one I pur- 
chased, too, there was a variation in color. Instead of the body color 
being black, it was of a deep maroon, almost brown, and the red bands 
each contain a Greek key design in striking green, while the terminal 
border, much wider than in the usual type, is of deep blue, indented into 
the red with a step (or rain-cloud) design. (Fig. 29.) 

Of somewhat established type as the one I have described as so 
popular with the Navahos is the one prevalent among the Zunis, though 
there is much greater variation existing among the specimens made by 
this tribe than I have seen, or been able to secure. 

Mrs. Matilda Coxe Stevenson says of the Zunis that "the men's 
shirts, ceremonial kilts, and breechcloths and women's dresses and wraps 
are woven of black or dark-blue native wool in diagonal style." Strange 
to say, that while this diagonal weave is often found in Navaho blankets 
of a very inferior quality, it is seldom, if ever, found in their squaw 
dresses. The Pueblo Indians, however, of many villages use it to good 
effect, and nearly always in their own garments. 

Fig. 30 is a characteristic and typical specimen of an old Zuni 
squaw's dress, now exceedingly rare. The ground color is blue of dif- 
ferent shades, this being undoubtedly the result of the use of wool of 
different periods of dyeing. It appears, however (with exception of one 
stripe of a dark color that comes four and one-half inches from the sec- 
ond red band), as if the differences in the color of the blues were made 
purposely. Even the blue band at the upper and lower ends of the 
blanket are of rich deep blue, while in the center the color has toned 
down to a steely blue, yet the color used in the zigzag of the two wide red 
bands and the small design of the two narrower red bands are of the 
same deep blue as of the outer bands. 

The green is soft old-gold-green with many striking variations, which 
look as if they might have been caused deliberately by the introduction of 
short lengths of yarn, each of a different tone. 

This blanket is not of straight, but is of the twill weave, fully 
described in the chapter on weaving. Blankets of this type were always 
used as squaw dresses, in which case they were brought around the person 
under the right arm and fastened over the left shoulder and then sewed 
down the left side, although they were occasionally worn by the older 
women, as shown in Fig. 139. Around the waist was worn a sash of the 
same kind of weave, as is clearly observable in the engraving. 

Fig. 31 is of a Zuni squaw dress in my own collection, the borders 



42 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

of which are in blue and of diagonal weave. The apparently curved line 
is in deep green and the band containing the serrated diamonds figure is 
in dark red, the diamonds being in blue, outlined with dark green, and the 
Inside square of red. The corresponding band below Is of the same colors. 
The lighter center band is of a lighter red. The general effect is beautiful 
and harmonious; the dyes native and unfading, and the weaving even, 
smooth, and good. The warp Is of homespun wool and exceedingly 
strong. This blanket has been under my feet in my library for over a 
dozen years, and while showing wear at the ends Is otherwise as good 
as the day it was made. 

Careful study of its weave shows that the diamonds are worked 
out so that the warp threads are brought to the surface, as Mr. A. M. 
Stephen describes the weave of the Hopi belts In another chapter. This is 
a rare thing to see, and in the thousands of blankets and squaw dresses that 
in the last thirty years have passed under my observation, I do not suppose 
I have seen it more than half a dozen times. 

A squaw dress of this type, and that Is rarely seen today, is pictured 
in Fig. 32. I purchased It at Laguna, N. M., some twenty or more 
years ago, and ever since It has charmed my eyes as It has hung on one 
of the doors of my library. The body Is of black, while the deep border 
at each end is of red, with a stepped design in blue, and a four-inch-wide 
strip of diagonally woven blue. The red is of different times of dyeing, 
as it varies In color. 

The Acoma Indians make a squaw dress quite as ornate and beau- 
tifully woven as do the Zunis, and Fig. 33 Is a good specimen found in 
the Fred Harvey collection, at Albuquerque, N. M. The body of the 
dress Is black, and the designs on the borders are embroidered in signifi- 
cant designs. These dresses are generally used now only In the ceremonial 
dances In which the women take an important and impressive part. 

I have elsewhere referred to the idiosyncrasies one often meets with 
in dealing with the Indian. The squaw dresses of the Pueblos afford a 
fine illustration. 

Though the Hopis are the nearest Pueblo neighbors the Navahos 
have, and though many of their men are weavers, they do not follow 
the universal Pueblo method of weaving squaw dresses, but either pur- 
chase or barter for those of Navaho w-eave, or make them after the 
style of the ordinary weave, as I will afterwards describe. 

Fig. 34 Is of a rare Hop! ceremonial squaw dress In the Fred Har- 
vey collection. It is of extra large size, well and finely woven, of white 
cotton body with embroideries of red, white, and black, which form most 
effective borders. 

The every-day squaw dresses of the Hopi referred to above are by 




Fig. 27. 
Another Soft-Weave Blanket. 

(.\lltll"l'> C.lllct-II.Ml.) 



II'^OE .iS] 




Fig. j8. 
An Excellent Traveling Blanket. 

(.Nulh'-r's L'.illtcli.ni. I 



ll'ACU ,vS] 



NAVAHO AND PUEBLO SQUAW DRESSES 43 

no means common, and it is almost impossible to tell where any given 
specimen was made, unless the purchaser gained that knowledge at the 
time it was secured from the Indian. 

Fig. 35 is of a man-woven Hop! squaw dress, which, however, I 
purchased from a Navaho. The man who wove it was a dweller in 
Tewa, or Hano, the first village on the eastern mesa of the Hopis. Now, 
strange to say, though regarded as Hopis, and always spoken of as Hopis, 
the Tewas are a foreign people who came from the Rio Grande region 
in order to help the Hopis fight the Utes and Apaches. These had been 
attracted from the north and south by the flocks of sheep and other 
possessions that the Hopi had acquired, and many a sharp battle of 
defense was fought, though the Hopis were never daring enough to make 
expeditions of reprisal upon their thieving and murderous foes. 

Mr. A. M. Stephen thus relates how the Tewas came to be estab- 
lished with the Hopis: 

While the Tusa\an were still in the dire straits as related, they sent to their 
distant kinsmen on the Rio Grande, beseeching them to come to their relief. The 
messengers went to the village of Teh-wa, which is now called Pena Blanca, lying 
upon the east side of the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The Teh-wa, or " Tcheh- 
e-wa," House people, as they call themselves, speak a different tongue from the Hopi, 
but are very similar to them in all other respects. The difference in language, prob- 
ably results, as has been suggested, by a former long-continued separation ; but they 
also differed from the Hopi in possessing courage enough to take the field against a 
foreign enemy. They came to the aid of the Hopi, probably in 1720, moving as a 
sort of militar>' colony, of about fifty families, and afterwards reinforced by as many 
more. On the day preceding their arrival at Walpi, the Ute had driven off the last 
flock of sheep belonging to that village ; the Walpi were too completely cowed to 
venture out, but the Teh-wa at once took the trail, and came up with the Ute, not 
many miles away. They had driven the flock up a steep mesa side, and when they 
saw the Teh-wa coming, they killed the sheep on a broad ledge, and piled the car- 
casses up as a defense, behind which they fought. They had a few firearms, while 
the Teh-wa had only clubs, stone-hatchets, and their bows and arrows, but they 
charged and drove the Ute before them, and on some following night surprised the 
Ute asleep. They killed all but two, who were spared to go to the Ute country and 
tell their people that the Teh-wa warriors had come. On their return from this 
successful expedition, the Teh-wa built the village, close to the gap on the east mesa, 
which they still occupy. They claim that their redoubtable presence caused the 
hostile forays to cease, but as the region had been very persistently despoiled, it is 
more than likely that this circumstance also influenced the depredators to desist. 

To return now to the blanket which has caused this somewhat lengthy 
digression. It is woven broad side on, and is therefore wider than it is 
long. Its size is 53x44 inches, woven in five panels, three of which are 
red, with designs in greenish-blue, and two of which are alternate stripes 
of gray and black. Like all other squaw dresses, this was worn folded, 



44 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

the sides sewn together so as to have the upper portion of the seam rest- 
ing OH the left shoulder, while the folded crease rested under the right 
shoulder. 

Another squaw dress of similar style and make, though a trifle more 
ornate in design, is shown in Fig. 36. This is 48x60 inches in size, of 
soft texture and, therefore, loose weave, in five panels. Three of these 
are red, with square-like designs in a pale violet, on the two outer ones, 
and square or Greek crosses on the center panel. The two other panels 
are made up of gray and black stripes. In the center panel of this dress 
a distinct variation of the color of the stripe in which the crosses occur is 
seen. This is a striking illustration of the results of using yarn dyed at 
different times (though supposedly of the same color), and it also shows 
what I have elsewhere explained, that the weavers do not always take 
their yarn directly across the fabric, though that would appear to be the 
natural and workmanlike procedure. 




Fk;. jg. 
Modern Navaho Squaw Dress. 

(Colk-ctiuii ,,f C. N. Colliiii.) 



[i*AUE 41] 



CHAPTER VII 

The Song of Blessing of the Blanket 

/^NE of the most common chants or sacred songs of the Navaho is 
^-^ the hozhoji, or song of blessing or benediction. It is used on almost 
every occasion, in social and domestic life. One of these is on the setting 
up of the blanket before a newly erected hogan. Of course there are 
unbelieving and irreligious Navahos who care little or nothing for these 
ceremonies and chants that are very dear, sacred, and precious to the 
hearts of the truly religious; and the more industrious, skillful, and care- 
ful the weaver the more likely she is to be under the feeling of what to 
her are religious influences. 

According to the mythology and beliefs of many Indian tribes, and 
among others, the near neighbors of the Navaho — the Hopi and Zuni — 
all prayers offered in the blessing of any particular object inhere to that 
object, hence the friendly races, combats, strivings, competitions, and 
strugglings to gain possession of these objects over which prayers have 
been offered, sacred songs sung, and rites performed. These are taken 
and used to make the cornfields more fruitful, to make the herds more 
prolific and to bring an abundance of good luck in every direction. 

While, to most cultured Americans, there may seem to be nothing of 
good that can come from the prayers and songs of a barbaric Navaho, I 
am free to confess it does not lessen the value of a good blanket in my 
estimation to know that it is probable that songs of blessing and benedic- 
tion and prayers of helpfulness have been sung and said over it. I like 
to feel that the Navaho woman thought of the beautiful poetic symbols 
of the first blanket when she made my blanket, and that before she began 
work upon it she prayed that only beautiful things should come in touch 
with it. Then I can see the ceremony of blessing the hogan, as it is else- 
where described in these pages. The doorway is an important spot in the 
hogan. It faces the rising sun. The sun is not a dead object of inani- 
mate Nature to the Navaho, but a living, supreme, divine personality, 
whose eyes gaze upon the innerness of everything exposed to his gaze. 
The blanket that covers the doorway, therefore, is ever in his sight dur- 
ing the morning hours, and it, with all the rest of the hogan, is made the 
subject of the prayers of blessing. 

45 



CHAPTER VIII 

The Temporary Deterioration of the Art of Navaho Blanket Weaving 

TT IS essential in studying aright the history of the Navaho blanket and 
-*■ its present condition to realize the causes that led to its deterioration, 
and, for a time, almost threatened its destruction. Fortunately, this con- 
dition was but temporary, and has been, in the main, bravely overcome. 

As explained in an earlier chapter, up to about thirty-five or forty 
years ago the only Navaho blankets one could secure were bayetas, 
"native-wools" and "native dyes," with, now and again, a cheaper grade 
used as common blankets. 

Four things were responsible for the rapid change and decline in the 
character of the Navaho weavers' work. These were: 

I. The introduction of Germantown yarns. 2. The commercializa- 
tion of the art. 3. The introduction of aniline dyes. 4. The introduction 
of cotton warps. 

Let us consider these factors in their order and see how much 
influence each contributed to the temporary breakdown of the art. 

/. The Introduction of Germantown Yarns 

At the first, when Germantown yarn was introduced to the Navaho, 
fully forty years ago, the weaver took it upon herself to retwist the yarn 
to make it firmer and tighter. The result was that the earlier woven Ger- 
mantowns are almost as good as those made from bayeta or native-dyed 
wools. The reason for this is clear. The earlier Germantown yarns were 
dyed, as were the English bayetas, from old vegetable and other dyes of 
tested quality, and the mordants were as carefully chosen as the dyes. 
Hence the colors were sure and reasonably free from liability to fade. 

But there was a subtle, because almost imperceptible, injurious influ- 
ence introduced when the weaver could purchase yarn ready-made instead 
of being compelled to engage in the labor of making it herself. 

When, too, the Germantown yarns began to be dyed with aniline 
dyes they lost their old time charms, gave to the civilized world more 
gorgeous brilliant hues, dazzled its eyes as well as those of the Navaho 
weavers, and helped pervert the popular taste in regard to colors, just as 

46 





-•2 1 

<r. ^ P 



- S ■- - :. 

,- 'c C - ; 

N - -- 

— o ' 






DETERIORATION OF THE ART 47 

too much salt in a cooked dish destroys the subtler and finer flavors and 
essential essences of the dish itself. 

Yet while the general effect of the introduction of Germantown 
yarns was to produce deterioration for a time, there were some weavers 
who now did their best work. The marvelous increase in colors and the 
ease with which they procured the yarn all ready for weaving seemed to 
stimulate these women to high endeavor. Hence, some exquisite speci- 
mens of Germantown blankets come to us from this period. Such a one 
is Fig. 37, from the Vroman collection. It is as gorgeous as a ballet 
in a Christmas pantomime, and though it fairly revels in riotous color, in 
design and weave it is a wonderfully superior piece of work. I doubt 
if a finer piece of Navaho weaving of Germantown yarn has ever been 
seen. It is as close and tight as felt and will carry water today, although 
it has been in constant use on the floor ever since it was purchased. 

2. The CommerciaUzation of the Art 

Now came the serious step in the art's downfall. It appeared for a 
while as if it might be a frightful precipice over which it would fall for- 
ever. And yet, when the step was first taken, it was with the best of 
intention and without any thought of doing injury to the Navahos or their 
art. Indeed, it was with the desire to enlarge the Indians' productiveness. 
John Lorenzo Hubbell was already well established as an Indian trader 
among the Navahos at Ganado, Arizona. In the year 1884 C. N. Cotton 
joined him there in partnership. 

Their whole purchase of blankets that year amounted to but between 
300 and 400 pounds. These were of the common, straight-pattern type 
and were purchased or traded for at about $2.00 each. No saddle- 
blankets were either offered for sale or bought. 

The following year Messrs. Hubbell and Cotton began to see pos- 
sibilities in the blanket business. Why could they not get a market for 
these products of the Navahos' looms? While the finer quality of native- 
wool, native-dyed blankets, and also those of Germantown yarn were 
being made, practically none were being offered for sale or barter to 
the traders. Mr. Cotton began to urge upon the weavers that they 
bring in more blankets of the better qualities and also that they make 
more of the common grades. Little by little they built up a good busi- 
ness, and all seemed to be well. The Navahos were glad of the increase 
in their income, and the fact that Hubbell and Cotton purchased all the 
blankets the weavers brought in soon spread over the reservation, and 
added both to their fame, their ordinary business, and the stock of their 
blankets. This state of affairs continued, however, for but a short time. 



48 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Two new and disturbing elements were at hand. These were the intro- 
duction of aniline dyes and cotton warps. 



J. The Introduction of Aniline Dyes 

At this time, Mr. B. F. Hyatt, who was the post trader at Fort 
Defiance, introduced aniline dyes and taught the Navaho women with 
whom he traded how to use them. Mr. Cotton wished to do the same at 
Ganado, but Mr. Hubbell objected, foreseeing what afterwards actually 
occurred — the deterioration of the quality of the work. The Navahos 
already had indigo and most of the old blankets in which blue is the 
predominating color date from the early eighteen eighties. The indigo 
was purchased from the Mexicans, or later, from the traders. 

In the winter of 1886-7, however, Mr. Cotton had his way and he 
succeeded in having one of the great dye manufacturers put up, ready for 
use, a quantity of aniline dyes. He instructed the weavers how to prepare 
them and then encouraged them In the making of various and individual- 
istic designs. Those weavers who showed artistic and inventive skill he 
took particular pains with, as now did also Mr. Hubbell, and instead of 
buying the product of their looms by the pound, they were purchased by 
the piece — the price always being proportioned to the tightness and 
fineness of the yarn, the cleanliness of the wool, the color scheme, the 
individuality of the design, and the closeness of the weave. 

Thus was begun the trade in the modern blanket, and to Mr. Hyatt 
is due the honor — and also the execration — that has followed the intro- 
duction of the aniline dye to the Navahos. For a time all seemed to go 
well. The demand for Navaho blankets Increased rapidly. The traders 
could not secure enough to supply their customers. 

4. The Introduction of Cotton JVarp 

To hasten on the manufacture of more blankets, therefore, the 
traders themselves introduced a cotton warp which they sold at a low 
price to the Indian. Thus relieved of the trouble and labor of making 
wool warps, blankets were made much easier, and therefore cheaper than 
before, and speedily a great demand was created for cheap blankets. 
Urged on to greater productiveness the Indians failed to clean the wool 
aright; they had neither the time properly to scour and wash It, remove 
the burrs, nor extract the dirt, dust, and grease. Such wool as this never 
takes the dye properly, hence the colors were uneven. Rushed to com- 
plete her task, for which she knew she would get a small price, the weaver 




CS-*"**^-' 




Ftc. ,;i. 
Zuni Squaw Dress, Fine Old Weave. 



(Autllwr's Cdllc'CtiDil.) 



ll'Ar.i: 41] 



DETERIORATION OF THE ART 49 

spun her dirty, greasy, poorly-carded, imperfectly-dyed wool into the 
loosest, thickest, and coarsest kind of yarn, and then hastily and indif- 
ferently wove it — upon the cheap and flimsy cotton warp — in poor 
designs, with a loose stitch, the sooner to get it into the trader's hands 
and secure her pay. 

Even in the case of the Germantown yarns, cotton warps were used, 
and though the designs were better than in the ordinary blankets the work 
was hastily done, not thoroughly battened down, and consequently soon 
exposed the flimsy warp to the wear and tear of daily use. 

These were the factors that combined to pull down and degrade the 
weaver's art, but it did not take practical business sense long to assert 
itself and bring about a change. This was being done slowly, but surely, 
all the leading traders refusing to purchase at any price the badly cleaned, 
dyed, spun, and woven articles. Unable to sell them or even get rid of 
them in trade, the weavers were compelled to use them for their own 
purposes, and thus the most careless and indifferent were brought to see 
the necessity for improvement, when, by the irony of fate, a well-inten- 
tioned movement, inaugurated by two wealthy New York brothers 
brought back for a short time the evil conditions, and yet, in the end, made 
the improvement more certain. In about the year 1900 the Hyde Explor- 
ing Expedition was organized. Mr. B. T. Babbitt-Hyde and his brother 
were exceedingly desirous of thoroughly and scientifically exploring the 
little known and secret recesses of the Navaho reservation, and they 
became so interested in the Navahos and their weaving art that they 
determined to help enlarge their output of blankets by opening up large 
depots in American cities to dispose of all they would weave. A most 
laudable purpose and one which should have redounded to their credit. 
But, unfortunately, all their traders in the field were not imbued with their 
spirit and high purpose, and before they could stop it, the demand created 
for blankets was bringing in a flood of the wretchedly inferior work 
above described. 

The results might have been foreseen. The public — or the more 
shrewd and discerning of it — refused to buy this inferior work, whether 
of the dirty, greasy, coarser native wools, or the poorer work of the 
expensive Germantown yarns. Yet the flood of poor quality, thick, 
coarse, loosely woven blankets, wretchedly dyed in hideous combinations 
of colors continued to pour into the market. As an art, Navaho weaving 
was doomed unless something speedily was done. While the conscientious 
traders had purchased few or none of this kind, selecting all the blankets 
offered with the greatest care and discernment, this other flood placed 
the Hyde Exploring Expedition in the anomalous position of offering for 
sale, at one and the same time, though through their different stores, the 



50 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

very highest specimens of the modern Navaho weaver's art, and the low- 
est — or pretty nearly so. 

The very magnitude of this laudable and praiseworthy endeavor, the 
great advertising it secured, the immense number of the blankets pur- 
chased, the arousal of the public interest, the number of newspaper and 
magazine articles published about the Navaho Indian and his blanket, all 
had an educative effect, which had an ultimate reaction for positive good 
upon the art itself. Unable to cope with the situation, or determined to 
free themselves from the burden placed upon them by irresponsible men, 
the Hyde Exploring Expedition sold out to Mr. J. W. Benham and his 
associates, who speedily established the business upon a sound footing, 
on the lines indicated in the next chapter. The lesson has been well 
learned. The public, now, is too well-informed upon the Navaho blanket 
to tolerate any further playing with the business. It demands, and will 
have, good blankets, or none, and in that insistent demand the art finds 
its chief and surest safeguard. 




Fir.. 32. 
Pueblo-made Squaw Dress. 

(Autlior's Collection.) 



[Pace 42] 



CHAPTER IX 

Iviproving the Art of Navaho Blankct-fVeaving 

"jVrO STUDENT of the Navaho blanket will contend for one moment 
-*- ^ that the fine old weaves are not the most eagerly sought after, and 
oftentimes the most perfectly woven blankets known to the connoisseur. 
A blanket in which native dye was used, made of finely spun and closely 
woven native wool, which was thoroughly cleaned and scoured before 
being dyed, embellished with a design that attracts and pleases the eye 
is as eagerly sought as ever. So is one in which the retwisted red bayeta 
forms the main body of the blanket. Almost equally desirable are the 
earlier and better qualities made of Germantown yarn, where the warps 
were of wool, even though the colors and designs, originally, were of 
barbaric splendor. In time these colors tone down to exquisite harmonies 
that make the blankets pictures of beauty and charm. 

Such blankets as these will ever be in demand, and are eagerly sought 
after today at prices that are constantly increasing. 

Yet it cannot be denied that as good blankets are being made now as 
ever. As a rule when the white man has commercialized an aboriginal 
art it becomes degraded and debased so that one is compelled to look 
for the finest specimens among the oldest examples. 

While this is true of the Navaho blanket, the finest old specimens 
being scarce and almost priceless, it is a remarkable fact that, in spite 
of the period of marked deterioration, fully explained in the preceding 
chapter, the Navaho weaver has reasserted herself, and is now making 
blankets that in general and specific terms equal those of the past in 
everything except age and the use of native dyes. 

When blanket weaving reached its lowest stage and the public had 
begun to realize the cheap and almost worthless character of much of 
the work offered to them the sales dropped off woefully, for they refused 
to purchase more of such unworthy goods. 

This worked like an electric shock upon the traders. They saw — 
not all at once — but with the speediness of shrewd business men, that in 
their haste to develop a trade they had made a grave mistake. Yet they 
had self-willed Indians to deal with, who neither understood nor cared 
anything for the white man's method of reasoning. If they refused to 
accept blankets in trade, however poor, the Indians would go off in a huff 

51 



52 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

and do their trading elsewhere. The traders had no union or league so 
that they could pool their interests. They were too far apart to have 
the opportunity to meet with one another, save by accident; hence for a 
while blanket matters stood at a low ebb. Soon, however, it became 
apparent to the most indifferent and thoughtless that something must be 
done, or ruin stared them in the face. They could not continue to pur- 
chase poor quality blankets which they could not sell, no matter what the 
Navahos thought or did. As soon as this idea was fully developed in 
their minds things began to change for the better. 

To four firms, more than any others, who stand in close relation to 
the purchasing public, is owing, undoubtedly, the rapid improvement of 
the art in late years. Fred Harvey, whose great Indian collections at 
Albuquerque, New Mexico, and at the Hopi House at the Grand Canyon, 
have been the delight and instruction of many thousands, and who has 
Indian stores at many of the leading depots along the line of the Santa Fe 
railway, set his face definitely and unalterably against all of the low-grade, 
common, and poorly made blankets. He would not handle them at any 
price. He demanded of his weavers throughout the reservation the 
best, and refused all others. Cotton warps, save in the few exceptional 
cases referred to, were positively debarred, and all yarn must be thor- 
oughly cleansed, deodorized, dyed, and spun before it was woven, or it 
could not be disposed of to, or by, him. This naturally made the Fred 
Harvey blankets seem to be of a higher price than those offered by others. 
But it was and is only a seeming. The purchaser who is discriminating 
and wants only the good thing, does not always have the time or oppor- 
tunity to study into the details of his purchases. He wishes to deal with 
a reliable house who will guarantee to him that he is purchasing the best. 
He is willing to pay a fair price for such expert advice, and such guar- 
anteed protection, and from this standpoint Fred Harvey's blankets are 
as reasonable as those of any house in the trade. He also carries an 
immense stock, not only of the rare old type of blankets, but of the mod- 
ern weaves, of every style and make. 

In a similar manner The Benham Indian Trading Company stood 
between its customers and poor work. Mr. J. W. Benham, the founder 
of the company, and his father, Mr. A. M. Benham, were men of the 
most upright character, who thoroughly understood the business from 
beginning to end, and they built up a large trade by their integrity and 
conscientious treatment of their customers. The present head of the firm, 
by whose name the business is now known — The Burns Indian Trading 
Company — was practical manager of the older business for some years 
and is carrying on the business on the same high plane. 

Messrs. Hubbell and Cotton also demanded the better work, and 




Acoma Squaw Dress. 

( I'rcd llarvcy t'.)lk-clion.) 



rl'AGE 4.>] 



IMPROVING THE ART 53 

when the partnership between them was dissolved the former made 
arrangements with all the leading weavers of his part of the reservation, 
and for twenty-five years or more has kept them all busy making fine 
blankets that are standards of excellence throughout the trade. 

About the beginning of this century Mr. J. B. Moore, who had a 
trading post on the reservation at a point afterwards named Crystal, 
New Mexico, made a further step in advance in the improvement of the 
art. Instead of allowing the Indians to card, scour, and dye their wool, he 
carefully selected the finest quality and longest staple of the wool he had 
purchased from the Navahos, and shipped it east in carload lots to the 
mills, where with modern machinery and by improved mechanical and 
chemical methods all the impurities, the grease, the attendant odor, were 
scientifically and certainly removed. Then the cleaned and purified wool 
was shipped back, and, under his own direction, carded, spun into yarn 
by the Navahos, and dyed with colors of his own choosing. Thus the 
dyes were more likely to be permanent, and none of the inharmonious 
colors were introduced. 

Now the yarn was issued to those weavers who had proven their 
craftsmanship and artistic skill. Only enough was issued for one blanket 
at a time, and the size of it was to be carefully shown. The weaver was 
left to her own originality and creative power if she had shown her ability 
in the past, otherwise a blanket was placed before her and she was 
instructed to make her design as near to that as possible. To get her 
to copy a design exactly is almost impossible. Even with the least original 
of designers there seems to be the pride of the true artist who must 
originate and not copy. 

This plan of Mr. Moore's worked well, for there are some weavers 
who have superior technical skill in the mere mechanical part of weaving 
but who lack the artistic and creative power to originate striking and 
pleasing designs. By this method they are giv^en the suggestion for 
designs which they always deviate from and thus secure the touch of 
original personality, while at the same time the weaving is done with 
that superior skill that is their especial pride and boast. 

By these means Mr. Moore secured blankets of superior uniformity 
of quality, whose points of superiority were perfect cleanliness of the 
wool, odorlessness, dyes of assured permanency, richness and harmonious- 
ness of color scheme, fine and tightly spun woof threads, the same assured 
quality in the wool warp threads, novel and pleasing designs carefully 
executed, and that tightness or closeness of weave that alone assures 
durability. 

Most of these blankets of Mr. Moore's were sold directly to the 
individual purchaser. He did a large mail order business, without allow- 



54 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

ing his goods to go Into the hands of the dealer, and gained considerable 
note as well as a large financial return by this method of sale. 

In 1911-12, however, he sold out to Mr. J. A. Molohon, who, at 
the same post, Is carrying on the business in the same manner and has 
materially added to his staff of expert weavers. 

One of the finest specimens extant of the best class of blanket which 
the superior and honest weavers of this epoch made is shown In Fig. 38. 
These were generally made for shamans (medicine men), or those who 
were regarded as chiefs of their section of country; hence received all the 
care and attention that blankets for ceremonial and personal use were 
entitled to before the days of commercialism. 

The body is in the plain straight stripes, mainly of black and blue 
with two relief bands, in which old-gold-green, and blue are Included 
between two bands of red. The center of the blanket contains the con- 
ventionalized zigzag design, and the two ends are likewise finished with 
this conventionalized zigzag symbol. 

This blanket has seen good service, and is today In good condition. 
Its use and old age have improved It. The weave Is not too tight, although 
tight enough to be solid, but the blanket is soft and yielding. The one 
great charm of blankets of this kind is found in the subtle variations of 
tone that the colors take on during the lapse of time. Some of the black 
stripes take on a brownish tinge, while the blue varies in quality, and as 
one moves it and looks at it there is a play of color upon it that reminds 
one of the elusive though positive hues and tints that are found on the 
desert. This blanket possesses a rich iridescence, combined with that 
elusive quality. It Is in the Fred Harvey collection. 

It is freely conceded by all traders that the Navaho is a shrewd 
business man, and the women are as keen. Intelligent, and self-reliant as 
the men. This In Itself has been one of the strong reasons for the 
improvement In the blanket. As soon as the weaver realized that the 
cupullty of the trader had led him to overreach himself in urging the 
use of Inferior material, etc., the wiser of the weavers took the matter 
into their own hands and began to remedy the evil. But the Navaho, 
being a keen trader, it was but natural, says one who knows him well, 
"if he saw he could get an equally good price for an Inferior and poor 
article, than he could for one upon which he had expended much care, 
time, and labor, he would do just about what his palefaced brother 
would do." 

Hence the education in some cases had to be of the trader rather 
than the weaver. The former had to learn that the public was growing 
more discriminating and would no longer be satisfied with a poor quality 
of work. The lesson Is now pretty well learned by both Indian and 




Fig- 35- 
Man-Woven Hopi Squaw Dress. 

(Author's Collei-tion. I 



[Pace 43] 




Fk;. ,/.. 

Hopi Squaw Dress. 

(Amhc.i's Ci.lli-ction. ) 
Sonuwimt iiiiiiiuc. 



lV.\r.E 44] 



IMPROVING THE ART 55 

trader, hence the quality of blankets will continue to improve, even though 
the output increases and becomes four times what it now is. 

The steps by which improvement has come are very simple. First, 
cotton warps were frowned upon, and some of the wiser traders refused 
to sell another pound of them. Those who dealt in aniline dyes made 
a careful choice of a few good colors, that experience had demonstrated 
were "faster" than others, and that were less glaring and fantastic 
when combined. Today only a few standard colors can be bought by the 
Navahos from their regular traders. If they wish the more startling 
colors they must go or send to some chilized city drug-store, for the 
traders have learned wisdom and refuse to carry them. 

Then came the pressure put upon the Indians for the improvement 
of the native wools, even though they used the aniline dyes in their 
coloring. First the thorough cleaning and carding of the wool was 
demanded, with the extracting of all foreign substances and the elimina- 
tion of matted and greasy clumps. Then they saw to it that the wool was 
thoroughly scoured and deodorized, so that none of the "sheepy" smell 
adhered to it. Now it was fit to be dyed, and, being clean and sweet, took 
the color perfectly and satisfactorily. It next became a matter of per- 
suasion by offering larger pay to get the weavers, first, to spin their yarn, 
both for warp and woof, tighter and finer. In this way it was soon 
made equal and even superior, when thoroughly and tightly spun, to the 
Germantown. Second, to invent and weave more artistic, pleasing, strik- 
ing, and original designs; and, third, to weave them tighter, closer, and 
more carefully, so that the critical eye and hand had less faults to find 
than formerly. 

Some traders went so far as to offer prizes for the best blankets 
offered by their weavers. A few of the more intelligent traders, who 
every year had been giving the Indians of the surrounding country a 
" feast," now used these gatherings for the purpose of creating rivalry 
in blanket weaving. All the best blankets of their stock were exhibited 
in a booth, and competitions thus freely and openly made soon aroused 
the desire for improvement — even for mastery. 

The result of these efforts is seen in that the Navahos are now weav- 
ing few blankets of any kind that have a cotton warp, except the small 
and cheap pillow covers, which do not have the same strain of wear 
and tear that the larger blankets are subject to. Of the Germantown 
yarn blankets there are not five per cent, made of the number that were 
manufactured ten or fifteen years ago. Yet this is not because the 
Germantown yarn is not good. 

It is rather that the Navahos have learned that, if they would 
preserve their profitable industry, they must themselves make a yarn that, 



56 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

in every sense of the word, is equal to the Germantovvn. This they are 
now doing, as all the experts who have watched recent developments 
freely testify. 

Of such yarn is that used in Fig. 39, which represents a modern 
blanket made by one of Fred Harvey's weavers at Albuquerque, New 
Mexico. This is a perfect illustration of the assertion that I have so often 
made in these pages that the weavers of today are making just as good 
blankets as any that have ever been made. While the yarn of this blanket 
is not quite as fine as that of an old bayeta, it is even more closely woven. 
Such a blanket as this is so stiff from the firmness of the battening down 
process that it cannot be used as a wrap or a cover for the body. It is 
almost as stiff as cardboard. This fine quality, however, renders it perfect 
as a rug and there is no such thing as wearing out a blanket of such texture 
and weave as this. The design is simple but pleasing, the main body being 
in native grays of different tinges and shades. The border is of nativ'e 
black — not dyed — wool. There are also lines of a deeper brown in the 
square stepped figures, and these also are of undyed wool. The color 
effect is exceedingly pleasant, while a touch of red adds sufficient life to 
attract and please the eye. 

There are also other powerful factors at work which tend directly 
to the improvement of the art of the Navaho weaver. 

In the early days the Navaho knew nothing of scientific breeding or 
care of his sheep. In 1851 Dr. Letherman wrote: 

The males are permitted to run with the herds at all seasons, and the young, 
consequently, are born in the winter as well as in the spring and autumn, and many 
die. For this reason their flocks do not increase with the rapidity generally believed 
by those not much acquainted with these people. It is a great mistake to suppose 
there is anything peculiar about Navaho sheep, for such is not the case. 

At that time he estimated the number of the sheep to be about 
two hundred thousand, and he declared that the "wool is coarse and is 
never shorn. The sheep are in all respects similar to those raised by the 
Mexicans, occasionally one being seen having four horns." 

He also refers to the fact that conditions were very adverse to sheep 
raising, as, for instance, in the winter of 1855, the Navahos were com- 
pelled to abandon the country north of Fort Defiance on account of the 
cold and depth of the snow, which prevented their sheep from grazing. 

Some of these conditions still remain, but the general improvement 
of the life of the Navahos has resulted in better quarters for the sheep in 
bad weather, and, in special cases of entire lack of grazing material, hay is 
purchased for their sustenance. 

Another grave and serious difficulty the Navahos have had to contend 




Fh;. :ij. 
A Navaho Weave of Germantown Yarn. 

( \ i-'Miian follccti.nl. I 
A fine specimen. 



[nu;i! 47] 



IMPROVING THE ART 



57 



with for many years has been, during the hot summer months, that they 
have had a poor supply of water. As Dr. G. H. Pepper once wrote: 

This scarcity of water is the all-absorbing topic of whites as well as natives in 
the great Southwest. There are spring and autumn rains or showers, as a rule, 
but at times almost a year will pass without enough water falling to fill the pockets 
in the rocks; at such times the Indian endeavors by songs and dances to propitiate 
the rain-gods and cause them to let fall the precious liquid that they are withhold- 
ing; when their sheep and horses are dying from thirst they will dance continuously 
for weeks and then, in despair, make a forced drive across the fier)', alkaline plains 
to the mountains, where the streams will furnish what the gods of the plains will 
not; but in such a drive their flocks are so decimated that it hardly pays to make 
the effort. 

Both these neglected conditions are now being taken hold of by the 
Government, through the Indian Department, in a most effective man- 
ner. Its report for 191 1 shows that "at the last dipping the Indians of 
Pueblo Bonita, New Mexico, had one hundred and twenty-three thousand 
sheep and goats," and that those of the Navaho Agency own "well in 
excess of five hundred thousand sheep." It was also " roughly estimated 
that within one hundred miles of the Superintendency at Keams Canyon, 
Arizona, four hundred thousand dollars' worth of Navaho blankets were 
sold in the year" (1910). 

The report then continues: 

A plan has been outlined for improving the breed of sheep belonging to these 
Indians by the introduction from time to time of a limited number of high-grade 
Rambouillct and Cotswold rams into their flocks, with the hope that the improve- 
ment in the native sheep may be so apparent that the Indians of these reservations 
will, of their own volition, adopt methods of improving their flocks. The aim is 
not only to increase the size of these animals so as to make them more desirable 
for mutton, but to improve the quality and amount of the wool so that the present 
clip of three or four pounds per animal may be increased to at least double that 
amount. 

On February 7, 8, and 9, 19 12, a conference of all the officials of 
the Indian Department on the Navaho Agencies was held at Fort Defi- 
ance, Arizona, for the purpose of discussing and considering various 
subjects and problems connected with the welfare of the Navaho. It 
was there estimated by the men most competent to judge that there were 
then 1,429,821 sheep, valued at $2,924,960, and 318,955 goats, valued 
at $497,910, owned by the Navahos. The wool clipped from the native 
sheep amounted to 3,375,000 pounds, valued at $429,375, and from the 
graded merino sheep 293,463 pounds, valued at $35,664. Not all of 
this wool is woven by the Navahos into blankets. Vast quantities are 
bought by the traders and shipped to the white man's woolen mills, but 



58 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

the Department estimated that in 1912, 843,750 pounds of native wool 
was woven into blankets. The output of blanlcets for the year was esti- 
mated to be, from native wool, $675,000, and from Germantown yarn, 
$36,000. 

As far as the water supply is concerned, the situation is rapidly 
being changed. The Hyde Exploring Expedition, when it began its work 
in Arizona, relied for two years upon the surface water just as did the 
Navahos, but the third year, writes Dr. G. H. Pepper in 1902: 

In digging a reservoir to catch the seep from an arroyo, a water-bearing stratum 
was reached ; below this there was a layer of quicksand ; a foot deeper we came to 
water-bearing gravel that furnished water for our stock, and also for all the Indian 
stock in the vicinity. The supply seems inexhaustible and on feast occasions from 
200 to 300 head of stock have been watered there in a single day. Navahos travel 
for miles to fill their kegs from this pure source and none were more surprised 
than they when it was first discovered ; this is not an isolated case, for another well, 
sunk by our party about thirty miles distant from the one mentioned, only twenty- 
five feet deep, supplied enough to tide over a very dry season — a simple illustration 
that serves to show what the government might do to help the Navahos. 

This suggestion was carried out, and in the year 19 10 water experts 
went over the major part of the reservation making careful observations 
and surveys, and the year following the work of putting in wells was 
actually begun. The result is that now (spring of 19 14), as one travels 
through the Navaho country he sees, every now and again, the surprising 
spectacle of skeleton steel towers, tanks, and pumps, with watering 
troughs, around which horses, cattle, and sheep daily congregate, when 
other water supply fails. 

The intention of the Government is to continue this work in all 
parts of the reservation until enough wells are bored to insure the Navahos 
against future scarcity of water. 

No chapter dealing with the improvement of the art of Navaho 
blanket weaving would be complete without especial reference to the work 
of one man. This is Mr. W. T. Shelton, the founder and present superin- 
tendent of the San Juan Agency at Shiprock, New Mexico. Mr. Shelton 
has shown a greater grasp of the situation, it appears to me, than any 
other man in the whole history of the Indian Service. To him has been 
largely owing the furtherance of the plan for providing water for the 
Indians' flocks and also the improvement of the breed of their stock. 
He has personally purchased several high-bred rams, and has been tire- 
less in his determination to inculcate a desire for, and interest the Indians 
in, improving the breed of their animals. 

But far more than this, in 1909 he conceived the idea of holding 
a fair at the San Juan Agency at Shiprock and invited not only the Indians 




Fu;. 38. 
Rare Old Moki Pattern. 

(I-riii n.iiviy rollLcth.n.) 

The common type of so-called Moki blankets consists usually of the black or 

Drown and blue stripe, sometimes alternated with white stripes. 

[Page 54] 



IMPROVING THE ART 59 

but also the Indian traders of the district to make as extensive exhibits 
as possible of every department of Navaho industry. To attract the 
Indians he offered general prizes for foot-races, horse-races, and a variety 
of other native games. He also let it be known that there would be no 
objections to the Indians indulging in some of their own sacred dances, 
and at his own expense he secured the services of several of the leading 
chanters, as the head medicine-men or dance-directors are known. 

This fair was a great success, although it only foreshadowed what 
its possibilities might be. Among the exhibits there were two hundred 
and thirty blankets of native wool and twenty-five Germantown blankets. 

In October, 19 12, the fourth fair was held, and four times as many 
blankets were displayed and the improvement in their quality was remark- 
able. Thirteen Indian traders were represented, but all of these allowed 
the weavers in their districts to make their own exhibits, so that the Indians 
themselves received full credit in person as well as the prizes which were 
awarded for the best blankets. 

Personally I was unable to be present at this fourth Navaho fair, but 
I arrived at the Agency a few weeks afterwards. I saw the prize blankets, 
and they confirmed Father Berard's statement that as fine blankets are 
being made today as ever in the history of the Navaho. In a large four- 
square enclosure, substantial wooden booths were erected with abundant 
space for the hanging up of the different blankets, and he who saw such a 
display as this for the first time must have fully realized that under such 
fostering conditions there was little possibility of the further deterioration 
of the art. 

It is impossible to estimate the beneficial effect of these fairs, and 
now that Mr. Shelton has demonstrated that they can be conducted suc- 
cessfully, it is to be hoped that they will be started in other parts of the 
reservation so that every weaver thereon may have the benefit of these 
opportunities for comparison and suggestion. 



CHAPTER X 

The Sigiiificcime and Symbolisni of Color in the Navaho Blanket 

T T was to be expected that as primitive man developed the weaving art, 
-*■ the introduction of color into his textiles would suggest itself. Sur- 
rounded on every hand by vivid brilliancies of color — in the gorgeous 
and glowing sunrises and sunsets, in the dazzling brilliancy of the sun- 
shine upon the variegated colorings of the desert, in the equally impress- 
ive color-attractions of his corn-fields, the wild flowers, the birds, reptiles, 
and animals with which he daily came in contact — he could scarcely ignore 
their insistent intrusion. 

How it was that color ultimately came to have a distinct symbolism 
in the Indian mind is a most interesting question, and one upon which, 
doubtless, knowing experts of the white race would have great and wide 
diversity of opinion. 

On this question, however, W. S. Blatchley, State Geologist of Indi- 
ana, writes some interesting and important things. To the thinking 
reader it will appear remarkable that a modern scientist should reason 
things out and come to the same kind of conclusions, even though not 
exactly the same conclusions, that were reached centuries ago by the so- 
called savages of our Western Wilds. Professor Blatchley says: 

The " Symbols of Nature's Hues," is a theme which to a painter's brush or a 
poet's pen should yield inspiration noble. Green stands for youtli, for cells rich in 
protoplasm and chIoroph\ll, strong in the power of storing energy, potent in the 
factor of growth. For that reason green is ever welcome, for it is the hue of promise, 
of hope, of growth, and work, of life yet to be, of crops of the future. It is the 
garb of springtime, the garb in which Mother Earth delights to clothe herself after 
her winter's sleep. 

Yellow and blue, orange, and red, represent maturity, the harvest time. 
Growth has ceased. Energy is stored. Cells are full of starch and protein, of food 
and power. These hues should also stand for peace and content, for happiness if 
it is ever to be — for these years which are the crowning glory of a life well spent. 

Brown and gray are sombre colors, hues of death and decay. Too often they 
follow the green of youth with none of the brighter tints intervening. The crop is 
harvested before full maturity. The seed shrivels and shrinks. Life is a failure, 
a succession of years of longing for that which never comes, which never can be. 

Black is for mourning, for despair, for grief over brown and gray, for the 
shroud to cover their faces, hide their faults. It is a hue seldom seen in Nature 
for her days and years are full of promise, too precious to be wasted in long spent 
grief. Green and the hues of perfect maturity are those in which she most delights. 

60 




Modern Native Wool Navaho, Best Quality. 



(l-'rt-d llarvcy Collection.) 
The wtavc miil iiialcrial in this hlnnket arc as ^nod 
ones. Ihe (|uanlily of this tirade now l>l"orince<l is 



s in some of the older 
oinparativclv limited. 



SIGNIFICANCE OF COLOR 6i 

Browns and grays and blacks are for her waste places, her deserts and mountain 
tops, her late autumns and winters; greens for her oases, valleys, and prairies. 

White is for innocence, for purity, for the first hours of the new born plant 
and animal, for the mantle which shall hide the black despair of deepest winter, 
but which shall be uplifted to disclose the first glimpse of the garb of green wliich 
follows the great awakening.* 

Thus reasons a modern scientist. Let us look at and compare this 
with the reasoning of the Navaho Indians. To the older Indians, who 
had not yet become sophisticated by contact with the white man, color was 
sacred — a gift of the best of their gods, and it was also symbohc. Every 
color meant something; it was not a mere haphazard, a chance, an acci- 
dent. Red is the color of the sunshine, hence its glorification in so many 
Navaho blankets. In the early days one could scarcely find a blanket 
which did not contain red — red, red, more red, much red. For sunshine 
was the medium in which the Navaho lived, moved, and had his being. 
Sunshine was his life. Take him away from it and he speedily pined 
away and died. It was his daily blessing, his stimulation, the source of 
his exhilaration, his joy. Do you wonder, then, that he used it abundantly 
in his blanket, that he wanted to wrap himself up in it on the days when 
the dark clouds hid the real sun, sleep on it during the darkness of the 
night, cover his children with it when they were cold, or when they slept? 

When one realizes this fact he sees that the Indian's love for red is 
not a mere vagary, a whim, a fancy of the eye, a barbaric taste in the 
wildly gorgeous, a flaunting of his inability to appreciate color, but a keen 
and grateful recognition of one of the greatest gifts of the gods to men — 
the warming, vivifying, fructifying, life-giving sun, and in the use of the 
color of the sunshine he pays a subtle compliment to the gods. 

Red, however, is but one of the colors, and the Navaho appreciates 
others, and the reason is evident when one understands the working of 
his mind. 

He sees in the East the white light of the morning, hence white is 
always symbolic of the East. The cloudless South is generally blue, hence 
blue always symbolizes South. The sunset in the West is so often char- 
acterized by yellow that that color always symbolizes West, while from 
the North come the dark, black clouds, hence black always symbolizes 
North. 

Then, by a symbolism of sex, color comes also to have a sexual 
significance. On this subject Dr. Matthews writes rf 

Of two things which are nearly alike, or otherwise comparable, it is common 
among the Navahos to speak of or symbolize the one which is the coarser, rougher, 

* Woodland Idyls, pp. 47-4S, by W. S. P.latclilcy ; The Nature Publishing Co., Indian- 
apolis. 

t The Night Chant, Memoirs of American Museum of Natural History, Vol. VI, p. 6. 



62 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

stronger, or more violent as the male, and that which is the finer, weaker, or more 
gentle as the female. Thus: a shower accompanied by thunder and lightning is 
called ni'ltsabaka or he-rain, while a shower without electrical display is called 
n'tltsabaad or she-rain; the turbulent San Juan River is called To'baka or Male 
Water, while the more Placid Rio Grande is known as To'baad or Female Water. 
Other instances of this kind might be cited from the vegetable kingdom and other 
sources. As an instance of this principle the south, and the color of the south, blue, 
belong to the female; the north, and the color of the north, black, belong to the 
male. The north is assigned to the male because it is to the Navahos a rough and 
rigorous land. Not only do inclement and violent winds come from the north, but 
the country north of Navaho-land is rugged and mountainous, and within it rise 
the great snow-covered peaks of Colorado. The south is assigned to the female 
because gentle and warm breezes come from there, and bcause the landscape south 
of the Navaho country is tame compared to that of the north. 

Hence in the preparation of his Plumed Wands to be used by a 
shaman, or medicine man, in certain ceremonials, those which are to rep- 
resent the male are painted black — the color of the North — and these 
are used in the masculine region, the North, while those of the female 
are painted blue — the color of the South — and are used for the South. 

Here are some of the methods invariably followed by the shamans 
to denote certain specific objects and thoughts, in which color aud design 
have distinct meaning: 

Red on a black or dark background suggests sunlight on the back 
of a cloud, and on some of the masks used in sacred dances borders are 
made of the feathers of red-tailed woodpeckers to represent rays of sun- 
light streaming out at the edge of a cloud. 

On many of the masks used in their ceremonies there is a yellow 
streak at the chin, crossed with black lines, to symbolize rain and the 
evening sky. Rain is commonly represented by eight vertical lines, 
painted black. 

The rainbow is a hard symbol to produce in any textile material 
owing to the geometrical necessities of weaving, but the attempt is often 
made, generally in four colors. 

In the sand-paintings rainbows are symbolized in two different ways, 
for they are regarded as of two different origins and entities. Sometimes 
they are the trails, the paths of the gods in the heavens, and at other 
times they are the gods themselves. When it is desired to represent 
them as symbols of the former they are supposedly made in five lines of 
color, though generally only red and blue are used, with dividing and 
border lines of white — thus making the five. 

As a deity the rainbow is regarded as female for the reasons 
explained in the references to the symbolism of sex. And as there are 
five colors (to the Navaho) in the rainbow, some of their medicine-men 



SIGNIFICANCE OF COLOR 63 

affirm that each color represents a different individual. Hence, accord- 
ing to this theory, there are five rainbow goddesses. 

They say the bows are covered with feathers, which give the colors. 
In the dry-paintings, the rainbow is usually depicted with a head at one 
end, and legs and feet at the other. The head is always square, to show 
that it is a female. Three colors only have been seen in the body of the 
bow, which is red and blue, bordered with white. In some sweat-house 
decorations, the rainbow symbol is shown with a head at each end, indi- 
cating that each separate band of color represents a separate goddess. 

In many of the sand-paintings, where the gods are represented and 
their legs are drawn (some are covered with skirts so they cannot be 
drawn), they are girded with rainbow garters. These are invariably the 
parallel lines of color, supposedly five, though generally red and blue 
are used, separated and also banded on the outside with white, thus 
forming the five lines. 

It may be interesting to note that you will never see a Navaho point 
to a rainbow, or a rainbow symbol, with his finger. To do this would be 
unlucky and be sure to result in the coming of a felon on the offending 
member. He always points at it with his thumb. 

In making the prayer-sticks, hundreds of which sometimes are used 
in a single Navaho ceremony, this symbolism of color comes into play. 
Those that are to be placed to the East are made of mountain mahogany 
{Cercocarpus parvifoliiis) ; those to be South of a shrub called coyote- 
corn (Forestiera neomexicana) ; those to the West of juniper {Jiiiiiperus 
occidentalis) ; and those to the North of cherry {Pritmts demissa). 
Dr. Matthews says of these: 

Mountain mahogany is probably selected for the east, because its abundant 
plumose white styles give the shrub a whitish aspect and white is the color of the 
east. Forestiera may be chosen for the south because its small olive-shaped fruit 
is blue, the color of the south. Juniper is perhaps taken for the west because its 
outer branchlets and leaves have, in the arid region, a tone of yellow, which is the 
color of the west. Cherry seems to be adopted for tlie north because the fruit of 
Prunus demissa, the common wild cherry of New Mexico, ripens black, and black 
is the color of the north.* 

Those who have observed the ceremonies of the Navahos doubt- 
less have been struck with the frequency of the appearance and use of the 
long cotton-string. It is used on the prayer-sticks, attached to the prayer- 
plumes, the sacred cigarettes, etc. The white cotton string represents 
the biki'-liazoui, the beautiful or happy trail of life, so often mentioned 
in tiie Navahos' songs and prayers, which the devotee hopes, with the 
aid of the gods, to travel. "With all around me beautiful, may I walk," 

. * The Night Chant. 



64 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

say the prayers, and for this reason the string passes through beautiful 
beads, which, by their colors, symboHze the four cardinal points of the 
compass. "With beauty above me, may I walk," "With beauty below 
me, may I walk," are again the words of the prayers; so the string 
includes feather and hair of the turkey, a bird of the earth, and of the 
eagle, a bird of the sky. " My voice restore for me," " Make beautiful 
my voice," are expressions of the prayers and to typify these sentiments 
the string includes feathers of warbling birds whose voices "flow in glad- 
ness" as the Navaho song says. 

Hence it will be seen that color has a definite symbolism to the 
Navaho and that everything connected with it is sacred and significant. 



CHAPTER XI 

Dyehuj Jf'ilh Native mid A>iUiiic Dyes 

T N Chapter VII, dealing with the Bayeta Blanket, I deemed it advisable 
-^ to introduce, ahead of this chapter, considerable information about 
the dyeing of bayetas and pellons. It will be well, therefore, for the 
reader who wishes a full grasp of this part of the subject to turn again 
to that chapter. 

That dyeing is a primitive art the earliest books clearly reveal. In 
the Book of Exodus, 25 :4, 5, we are told that Moses was instructed to re- 
quire the children of Israel to bring certain gifts for the erection of a 
tabernacle, and among them are enumerated " rams' skins dyed red," to- 
gether with blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. Isaiah cries out (Is. 
63 :i) : "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from 
Bozrah?" and in the next verse suggests how the art of dyeing may have 
had its origin: "Wherefore are thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments 
like him that treadeth in the winefat?" Just so soon as garments began 
to be worn, aye, even before then, the stain upon body and fleece, skin, 
hair, or texture must have suggested the idea of ability to change color 
by staining with fruit juices, the juices of nuts, skins, plants, leaves, etc. 
And the idea once in the mind of the primitive man or woman it would 
not require much experience to fix it permanently for the future benefit 
of the race. 

The Tinnehs of Alaska, of which family the Navahos are a branch, 
have used a few dyes from time immemorial, as their colored buckskins, 
blankets, and baskets clearly show. Hence it may be assumed that a crude 
and simple knowledge of the art was possessed by the first Navahos who 
settled where they are now found. Then contact with the Pueblos, and, 
later, with the Mexicans, stimulated their knowledge, and when they 
once began to weave after the Pueblo fashion their improvement in the 
art of dyeing was assured. 

There is a general cry of regret today that the art as followed by 
tTie Navahos of as late as fifty years ago, or, in a few isolated cases, even 
twenty years ago, has been lost, and that aniline dyes are substituted for 
the native ones. 

But the question of native Navaho dyes versus aniline or some form 

6S 



66 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

of modern dyes is settled forever by laws over which the purchaser prac- 
tically has no control. I say " practically," for undoubtedly were the pur- 
chasers of Navaho blankets to "arise in their might" and as one man 
demand no other than native dyes they would get them. But it is imprac- 
tical, impossible, to get them to make such a demand, and therefore by 
the very force of simple acquiescence in a fact that cannot be helped the 
native dye is disappearing — nay, has already practically disappeared. 

Yet, in spite of this affirmation that, in the main, the question of 
native versus modern dyes is forever settled, efforts are being made by 
white friends of the Navaho to materially improve his present methods 
of dyeing. Col. J. S. Lockwood, president of the Indian Industries 
League, of Boston, Massachusetts, is seeking to interest the Indian 
Department in the putting up of modern, scientific, and well-equipped 
wool-scouring and dyeing plants on the Navaho reservation, where the 
wool of the native sheep may be thoroughly washed, cleaned, deodorized, 
and then dyed with superior and reliable dyes and mordants. I believe 
this would be a decided step in advance and of material benefit to the art 
and to the Navahos. There will naturally be opposition on the part of 
the Indians, and it will take patience and wisdom to overcome this. 
Navahos are conservative to a high degree, though, as I have shown in 
Chapter IX; they are beginning to be reasonably alert to all plans that 
seek their material advancement and increased prosperity. 

Colonel Lockwood urges also that when blankets are woven with 
yarns thus properly prepared, the Indian Department should place seals 
upon them as' guarantees both to traders and private purchasers. 

In regard to the old native dyes there are, perhaps, half a dozen 
weavers on the whole reservation today — perhaps more, possibly less — 
who retain all the secrets and are willing to go to the trouble to dye the 
wool with them and thus produce a " native wool, native dyed, native 
woven" blanket. 

Fortunately, however, the methods were observed by intelligent and 
recording white men in time to save the art from being lost, and from 
their writings the following account is compiled. The name of each 
author, unless otherwise stated, is placed in brackets at the end of each 
quotation: 

In preparing the wool for dyeing, it is picked apart and the tangled masses are 
loosened, but, as a rule, there is no washing done. To most students of weaving, 
especially those who have become interested in the art of dyeing, it would seem that, 
in omitting the washing of the wool one of the essentials had been overlooked. In 
fact, many dyers insist that upon the quality of the water used depends the success- 
of the work, and they, therefore, use nothing but soft water. The scarcity of water 
in the Navaho country is responsible for this seeming negligence on the part of the 



DYEING WITH NATIVE AND ANILINE DYES 67 

blanket maker. But, in judging these worthy people we must remember that the 
wool of the Navaho sheep is not greasy as is that of the merinos and many other 
sheep and therefore does not require the elaborate washing and scouring that must 
be undergone ere the ordinary wool is workable. The Navaho herdsmen are par- 
ticularly careful about keeping their sheep from crossing with the merinos of the 
Mexicans, as they realize that the merino wool cannot be washed or bleached and 
that the use of the wool in its natural state causes unsightly streaks in their blan- 
kets. These streaks not only detract from the aesthetic appearance of their produc- 
tions but cause a depreciation in value. 

For making native dyes the Navaho dyer needs the vegetable and mineral ingre- 
dients required for the specific dyes; a pot in which to make the decoction of barks, 
flowers, twigs or roots, for which their own native pots are preferred, probably 
because the acid of the mordants will not act chemically upon earthen vessels as it 
\\ill upon tin or iron; a skillet, or frving pan, to prepare certain of the ingredients, 
and a few thin, slender sticks to immerse the wool with, or take it out of the dye, 
and to spread it out to dry. 

Each dye consists of at least two ingredients, a coloring matter and a mordant, 
usually some acid substance to fix the color fast. — [Berard.] 

The black dye is made of the leaves and twigs of the aromatic sumac (Rhus 
aromatica), a native yellow ochre, and the gum of the pinion (P'mus cdiilus). The 
process of preparing it is as follows: They put into a pot of water some of the leaves 
of the sumac and as many of the branchlets as can be crowded in without much 
breaking or crushing, and the water is allowed to boil for five or six hours until a 
strong decoction is made. While the water is boiling they attend to other parts of 
the process. The ochre is reduced to a fine powder between two stones, and then 
slowly roasted over the fire in an earthen or metal vessel until it assumes a light- 
brown color; it is then taken from the fire and combined with about an equal quantity 
in size of pinion gum; again the mixture is put on the fire and constantly stirred. 
At first the gum melts and the whole mass assumes a mushy consistence; but as the 
roasting progresses it gradually becomes drier and darker until it is at last reduced 
to a fine black powder. This is removed from the fire, and when it has cooled 
somewhat it is thrown into the decoction of sumac, with which it instantly forms a 
rich, blue-black fluid. This dye is essentially an ink, the tannic acid of the sumac 
combining with the sesquioxide of iron in the roasted ochre, the whole enriched by 
the carbon of the calcined gum. 

There are, the Indians tell me, three different processes for dyeing yellow; two 
of these I have witnessed. The first process is thus conducted: The flowering tops 
of Bigclovia gravcolcns are boiled for about six hours until a decoction of deep yel- 
low color is produced. When the dyer thinks the decoction strong enough, she heats 
over the fire in a pan or earthen vessel some native almogen (an impure native alum), 
until it is reduced to a somewhat pasty consistency; this she adds gradually to the 
decoction and then puts the wool in the dye to boil. From time to time a portion 
of the wool is taken out and inspected until (in about half an hour from the time it 
is first immersed) it is seen to have assumed the proper color. The work is then 
done. The tint produced is nearly that of lemon yellow. In the second process they 
use the large fleshy root of a plant which, as I have never yet seen it in fruit or 
flower, I am unable to determine. The fresh root is crushed to a soft paste on the 
metate, and, for a mordant, the almogen is added while the grinding is going on. 
The cold paste is then rubbed between the hands into the wool. If the wool does 



68 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

not seem to take the color readily a little water is dashed on the mixture of wool and 
paste, and the whole is very slightly warmed. The whole process does not occupy 
over an hour, and the result is a color much like that now known as " old gold." 

The reddish dye is made of the bark of Alnus iricana var. virescens (Watson), 
and the bark of the root of Cercocarpus parvifoUus ; the mordant being fine juniper 
ashes. On buckskin this makes a brilliant tan color; but applied to wool it produces 
a much paler tint. — l^Mattheics.^ 

Father Berard's descriptions are as follows: 

Black. — To make this dye the twigs, with leaves and berries of tsilchin, or ki, 
are gathered and crumpled together into small bunches. A pot of water is put over 
the fire and as many of the bunches as possible crowded into it. This is brought to 
boil and allowed to continue so for from five to six, or more hours, when a strong 
decoction is obtained. 

While the twigs, leaves and berries are boiling some pinion gum (je) is put into 
a skillet and allowed to melt over a slow fire. When melted it is strained to remove 
dirt and other impurities, replaced in the skillet, and brought to a high degree of heat. 
Then some native ochre (tsckho), which has been powdered between two stones, and 
roasted to a light brown color, is slowly added to the hot gum. The pasty mass which 
results from this mixture must be constantly stirred, since it will be spoiled if allowed 
to burn. Great care must also be taken that the mass does not catch fire, since the 
pinion gum or pitch is inflammable, for that would spoil the whole mass, and the 
work would have to be begun anew. While thus seething and being stirred over the 
fire the pasty mass gradually yields up its moisture, becomes dryer and dryer, until 
finally a fine black powder remains. This powder, after cooling off somewhat, is 
thrown into the decoction of sumac, with which it readily combines, and forms a rich 
blue-black fluid. This continues to boil for about a half-hour when the wool is 
immersed in it, allowed to boil a short time, and then taken out. The color pro- 
duced by this dye is a jet black, and is still used for dyeing yarn, buckskin and women's 
dresses. It is a very fast color and never fades. 

Yellow. — The flowering tops of kiltsoi, gold rod, Bigclov'w, of which several 
species grow in the Navaho country, are boiled for about six hours, until a decoction 
of a deep yellow is produced. When the dyer thinks the decoction is strong enough 
she heats over a fire, in a pan or earthen vessel, some native almogen called /.».■ dokozh, 
saline rock, a kind of native alum or salt rock, until it is reduced to a somewhat pasty 
consistency. This she adds from time to time to the decoction, and then puts the 
wool in the dye to boil. Ever and anon she inspects the wool, until in about one half 
hour from the time it was first immersed it is seen to have assumed the proper color. 
The tint produced is nearly that of lemon color. 

Another process of making a yellow is a decoction of the root of a plant called 
chantin'i, or jatini, with tse dokozh, native alum or salt rock. Clw/ini is a plant, 
or rather a weed, belonging to the Pogonaceac, or buckii'hcat family, of the species 
Rumcx hymenoscpalum, and Dr. G. H. Pepper says it " is commonly known as 
canaiffre." 

The process Is then described almost in the exact words of Dr. 
Matthews quoted above. 

Red. — This is a purely vegetable dye, all the ingredients being plants or parts of 
plants. To make this dye the woman first burns some twigs of the juniper tree, 



DYEING WITH NATIVE AND ANILINE DYES 69 

(Juniptrus occidcntalis), called gad. The roots of tsccsdazi, (Ccrcocarpus parvi- 
folius). a kind of mountain mahogany, are cnished and boiled. To this is added 
the juniper ashes and the powdered bark of the black alder, (Alnus incana var. 
virescens) known as kish, together with a plant called nibadlad, a moss which acts as 
a mordant. After the mixture has boiled until it is thought to be right it is strained 
and the wool or yarn is soaked in it over night. The result is a fine red color. 

The dull reddish dye is made of the powdered bark of kish and the root bark of 
tsccsdazi, which makes a fine tan color on buckskin, but produces a rather pale shade 
on wool. 

In former years the Navaho had a native blue made of adishilish, a kind of blue 
clay which was pulverized and boiled with sumac (ki) leaves to obtain a mordant. 
Later this was entirely superseded by indigo (beediltish) obtained from Mexicans. 
Urine, preserved in large Zuni pots, was used as a mordant into which the indigo 
was poured and tlie \\ool dipped. This was then allowed to stand from five to ten 
days, after which it was removed from the vessel and after dr>ing was ready for use. 

Here are Dr. G. H. Pepper's descriptions: 

The native yellow d\e, Kay-cl-soey Bay-toh, in common use when the traders 
entered the Navaho countn,', was made from the flowering tops of the Rabbit weed 
or bush, Kay-cl-soey, (Bigclovia gravcolcns). This plant is a member of the aster 
family and grows on the open prairies. It has a slender stalk which is crowned by a 
mass of yellow blossoms. It grows in clumps, as a rule, and there are three or four 
varieties in the Southwest. The flower-clusters are gathered and placed in a large pot 
containing water. This is allowed to boil from four to six hours. During the boiling 
the squaw places native alum, Say-doh-kans, almogen, in a frying pan and heats it until 
it is reduced to a pasty consistency. When the boiling has extracted the juices from 
the weed, the alum, which is to act as a mordant, is added. The liquid is now ready 
for the reception of the wool. 

In d>eing the wool with the yellow decoction, it is placed in the pot of boiling 
liquid and allowed to boil for fifteen or twenty minutes, after which it is tested every 
few minutes until it has assumed the color desired. The tints obtained from this dye 
range from a canary yellow to an old gold, and even an olive green may be produced. 

The only native dyes that are used by the Navahos at the present time are the 
red and black. These are used for dyeing the buckskin uppers of their moccasins. 
Machine-made shoes of the white man are being used to such an extent, however, that 
a few years will suffice to stamp out the last vestiges of a once popular and worthy 
industry. 

In preparing the red dye for moccasins or any other article of buckskin, the 
process is as follows: 

First a large rock is dusted and on it a fire is built. The sticks used for the fire 
are branches of the Juniper tree (Junipcrus occidcntalis) , called by the Navahos, Kot. 
Branches of this material are added from time to time until enough ashes have 
accumulated. The fire is then allowed to burn out. AH of the ashes, Kot Dccd-lit, 
are collected and placed in a cloth which is rolled up and put aside. The squaw now 
attends to the preparation of the other ingredients. 

Roots of the Mountain mahogany, Say-es-tozzic Bay-hrck-klohl, (Ccrcocarpus 
parvifoUus) , are gathered and stripped of their bark by a pounding process. For this 
work a flat stone and a hand hammer-stone are used. The root-bark, Say-es-tozzie 



70 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Bay-heck-klohl Bo-coggy is loosened by continued pounding and is then rolled from 
the roots. The bark is the only part retained, the roots themselves being devoid of 
color-bearing matter. When a sufficient quantity of the root-bark has been prepared it 
is placed in a kettle of water and allowed to boil for several hours. 

While the root-bark is boiling the squaw brings forth from her bundles of house- 
hold goods a number of pieces of the Black Alder, Kish, (Alnus incana var. virescens.) 
In many parts of the reservation this material must be brought from a distance and, 
as it is one of the principal ingredients, it is carefully prepared. A large buckskin is 
spread upon the floor of the liogan and upon it a stone slab is placed. The squaw now 
assumes a kneeling posture and, with a combination hammer and grinding stone, pro- 
ceeds to reduce the bark to a powder. The first step is to break the bark into small 
pieces. This is done by means of a gentle pounding with the hammer end of the stone. 
As the bark is very brittle, care must be taken, as the pieces are to be kept from flying 
beyond the limits of the buckskin, hence the hammer strokes are short ones and are 
more in the form of a crushing movement than of a blow. When the bark has been 
reduced to small pieces, the hammer end of the stone is again brought into play, this 
time as a pulverizer. The accumulated pieces of bark are made still smaller and then 
the hand-stone is reversed. The flat side is thus brought into use and the last process, 
that of grinding, is begun. The bark is reduced to a powder in the same manner as 
corn is made into meal, the work being done, at times, on a regular meal metate. The 
powdered bark is now swept into a pile and transferred from the buckskin to a piece 
of cloth and placed beside the juniper ashes. 

When the root-bark decoction Say-es-tozzie Bay-toh is ready for use, the small 
ash-twigs that have retained their shape are separated from the fine ashes and placed 
in a can into which some of the liquid from the boiled root-bark has been poured. 
These are allowed to remain about ten minutes, then the pieces that have not dis- 
solved are removed. 

Everything in the way of preparation having been attended to, the work of dyeing 
is begun by placing the piece of buckskin that is to be treated, upon a smooth sur- 
face of the sandy floor. The juniper ashes are the first to be applied. They are 
sprinkled upon the surface and rubbed in with the hands. Small pinches of this 
material are added from time to time until the entire surface has been uniformly pre- 
pared. The mahogany-root-bark-liquid is now poured upon the skin and worked into 
it with the fingers. The surface of the skin is also roughened with the nails. This 
rubbing and scratching continues until enough liquid has been applied to almost 
saturate the skin. The powdered alder bark is the next to be applied. It is put on in 
the form of a thick layer and the skin is kneaded and patted until the bark combines 
with the liquid. A thin layer of bark is now sprinkled upon the skin and upon this 
is poured the liquid obtained by mixing the juniper ashes with the mahogany root-bark 
extracts. A final patting and rubbing ensues and the buckskin is then rolled up and, in 
an absolutely saturated condition, is put aside to dr}'. 

The color resulting from this process is a dull red. It gives a very satisfactory 
color when applied to the buckskin, but it cannot be used to dye wool. It has been 
tried, but the resulting color is too light a red to be used for blanket work. 

The black dye, Eel-gee Bay-toh, is used for both buckskin and wool. In pre- 
paring this dye a fire of greasewood branches is started and upon it a pot of water is 
placed. While this is heating, twigs and leaves of the Aromatic Sumac, Key (Rhus 
aromatica) , are twisted into bunches. These bunches average about six inches in length 
and with them the pot is filled. They are allowed to boil from five to six hours. Dur- 



DYEING WITH NATIVE AND ANILINE DYES 71 

ing this time a second fire is built. Yellow ochre Tut Koompli, is powdered by 
grinding and is then roasted in a frying pan. The roasting turns the ochre to a dull 
red color. A portion of pinion gum, Jny, the gum of the Pinus edtilis, equal in 
quantity to that of the ochre, is added. The mass soon assumes a pasty form, but it is 
stirred constantly until the gum carbonizes and combines with the ochre, thereby 
forming a black powder. The bundles of twigs are taken from the pot and the con- 
tents of the frying pan are dumped into the dark colored extract of the sumac, A'o' 
Bay-toll. The pot is allowed to remain on the fire, and after the powder is added, 
the boiling continues for fully half an hour. The wool is then introduced, allowed to 
boil, and the dyeing is complete. 

As the Navahos have the natural black wool it is generally used for the black 
designs of blankets. It is tinged with red, however, and is therefore almost always 
dyed before being used. 



CHAPTER XII 

The Origin and SymhoUsm of Navaho Blanket Designs 

FROM what has been presented in earlier chapters it will be evident 
to the casual reader that the Navahos are a very symbol-loving 
people. As we have seen, they have a symbolism of color, a symbolism of 
sex, symbolism In the adornment of the representations of their gods, and 
symbols for almost every natural object connected with weather and 
meteorological phenomena. Hence it may not be altogether too great an 
assumption that in their blanketry the older weavers followed this tribal 
law or custom, and, while inserting certain symbols in their blankets, 
attached thereto certain personal meanings or interpretations. 
Father Berard, however, does not think so. He says: 

There is no system as to the use of the different figures; that is, they are not 
arranged into any kind of hieroglyphic order by which a woman could weave lier 
life's history, or any other history or story, into the blanket, as has been asserted by 
some writers. The Navaho blanket, therefore, is a human document only in so far 
as it shows the untiring patience and diligence, the exquisite taste and deftness, of a 
semi-barbaric people, and the high art and quality of their work, wrought with such 
simple tools and materials. 

As applied to the modern blanket, I have no doubt but that this 
dictum is correct. The Navahos design in accordance with the known 
wishes of the trader, and often make alterations and combinations of 
design to please him. It necessarily follows, therefore, that designs thus 
tampered or played with cannot have any especial significance or inter- 
pretation to the weaver, except that so much work, so well done, in so 
many days, will mean the receipt of so much cash, or groceries, or other 
commodities. In other words, it is a purely commercial proposition. 

Yet as this subject is of far deeper significance than most students 
comprehend, I feel that I owe the readers of this volume a very clear 
statement as to my position upon it. For what I have written upon the 
symbolism of designs in the baskets of the Indian tribes of the South- 
west has not only been much misquoted, distorted, and falsified, but I 
have been made responsible for much misinformation, and the ostensible 
authority for deliberate and wilful misrepresentation. For instance, be- 
cause I have asserted, and demonstrated, that some baskets are " human 
documents," in that the weaver has put into the design her hopes, am- 

72 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 73 

bitions, religion, etc., irresponsible and dishonest traders have conjured 
up wild and fantastic, though interesting and romantic, stories about the 
designs of the baskets they had for sale, and have given them to their 
patrons, quoting me as their authority that nil baskets contain such stories. 
Here is exactly what I did say in my book, Indian Basketry, the first 
edition of which was published in 1900: 

The only reliable method of determining the meaning of a basketry design is to 
obtain a clear e.xplanation from its maker. And this must be done cautiously. With 
her habitual reserve and fear of being laughed at by the whites, the Indian woman is 
exceedingly susceptible to suggestion. If you ask her whether her design does not 
mean this or that, you may with certainty rely upon what the answer will be before 
it is given. She will respond with a grunt or word of affirmation, and, at the same 
time, laugh within herself at the folly of the questioner. For, of course, she is 
" smart " enough to know that if you make the suggestion that the design means so 
and so, she will be safe if she accept your suggestion. 

If the basket is an old one and the maker is dead, one must be content to receive 
such explanation as the older members of the tribe can give as to the interpretation of 
its design. Yet it must not be overlooked that the observations of experienced ethnol- 
ogists insist that these explanations cannot be relied upon. On this subject Farrand 
says: " It should be noted that most of the designs show variants and also that what 
were originally representations of very dissimilar objects have converged in their evo- 
lution until the same figure does duty for both — conditions which result in uncer- 
tainty and difference of opinion among native connoisseurs, and consequently, in the 
conclusions of the ethnologist. Nevertheless, the great majority of the patterns are 
well recognized under specific names. There are, of course, geometric designs which, 
so far as all obtainable information goes, are used simply for the decorative value of 
their lines and angles; but such patterns are usually of great age, and it is quite pos- 
sible that their representative meaning is lost in antiquity or has only baffled the 
diligence of the inquirer. The well-known conservatism of the Indian insures the 
relative permanence of a design, even when its meaning is not recognized." 

Hence it will be seen that I carefully guarded my statement by 
showing that no person living can determine what the meaning of the 
design of any given basket is — provided it has a meaning — save the 
weaver herself. And I am fully satisfied that the same caution must be 
observed in determining the meaning of any design upon a Navaho 
blanket. Personally I am not yet prepared to accept Father Berard's 
belief that it has no meaning, or, rather, that in ilic earlier days of the art 
the weaver attached no significance to her design. I am perfectly aware 
that in this commercialized era the Navaho's art has suffered, and, as I 
have stated in other chapters, designs are handed out to the weavers with 
instructions to reproduce them, as near as may be, in the blankets that are 
to be woven. Here, then, is evidence sufficient that in many modern 
blankets there is no pretense of significance to be attached to the symbol 
or design used. 



74 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Yet, even granting all this, it cannot fail to be highly interesting, and 
instructive also, to trace out, as far as may be, the origin and history of 
many of the designs common to the Navaho weaver. 

Whence did she gain her designs? 

Some have claimed that they were stolen bodily from the Pueblo 
Indians — who were supposed to have taught the Navahos how to weave 
— others that they took them from the Mexican serapes, and still others 
that they have originated them from a careful observation of Nature. 

I am inclined to the belief that none of these claims is altogether 
justified, though there may be some truth in each of them when applied 
to individual cases; but to suppose that all the Navaho designs came from 
the Pueblos, or from the Mexicans, or from Nature alone are supposi- 
tions not borne out by the facts. 

An understanding of the origin of Navaho designs cannot be had 
without a fairly comprehensive knowledge of the Navaho himself, racially, 
socially, religiously considered. His whole life and mental attitude must 
be understood before the secret of his use of design will be revealed. 
Hence the pains taken to present in these pages as full pictures as possible 
of the Navaho on his reservation, in his native environment, in his home, 
and in his mental and religious attitude toward things. 

To one unacquainted with the religious thought of the Navaho 
weaver it might seem absurd to affirm that there is a close connection 
between her religious observances and many of the designs introduced 
into her blankets. Yet I think it can clearly be shown that there is an 
intimate connection between the two. Indeed, I doubt whether the sub- 
ject will ever be clearly understood until we have gained a much larger 
knowledge than we now possess of the sacred sand-pabithigs used by the 
shamans in their religious ceremonials. Far more complex than the sand- 
paintings of the Hopis, the Zunis, or any other of the Pueblo tribes, those 
of the Navaho are marvelous in their symbolism, remarkable in their 
invention, and fascinating in their weird picturesqueness. No adequate 
work has ever been published upon this subject, because no ethnologist 
has yet been found to devote himself enough to the Navahos to gain the 
requisite knowledge. Enough was done, however, by James Stevenson 
and Washington Matthews, both formerly connected with the Bureau 
of American Ethnology, to give one a clue to the mental processes of the 
inventive Navaho, and my own studies of Navaho ceremonials in which 
the sand-paintings are used have shown clearly how much they have 
influenced the Navaho weaver in her work. Mrs. John Wetherill, of 
Kayenta, Arizona, whose husband is a Navaho Indian trader, with a 
keen appreciation of the value of a series of studies of these sand-paint- 
ings, is now engaged in making a collection of them from the few remain- 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 75 

ing old medicine-men chanters of the tribe, and it is to be hoped that her 
valuable illustrations and descriptive manuscript will be given ere long 
to the scientific world. 

Of these sand-paintings, or dry-paintings, as he prefers to call them. 
Dr. Matthews thus writes: 

The excellence to which the Navahos have carried the art of dry-painting is as 
remarkable as that to which they have brought the art of weaving. UnUke the neigii- 
boring Pueblos, they make no graven images of their divinities. They do not decorate 
robes and skins with moist colors as do the Indians of the plains. They make little 
pottery and this little is neither artistically nor sjmbolically decorated. Their petro- 
gKphs are rare and crude; the best rock inscriptions, which abound in the Southwest, 
are believed to be the work of Cliff Dwellers and Pueblo Indians, or their ancestors. 
Seeing no evidence of symbolic art among them, one might readily suppose they had 
none. Such was the opinion of white men (some of whom had lived fifteen years or 
more among the Navahos), with whom the author conversed when first he went to 
the Navaho country, and such was the opinion of all ethnographers before his time. 
The symbolic art of the Navahos is to be studied in the medicine-lodge. The Pueblo 
Indians — those of Zuni and Moki — and some of the wilder tribes — Apaches and 
Cheyennes — understand the art of dry-painting; but none seem to have such num- 
erous and elaborate designs as the Navahos. 

The pigments are five in number; they are: white, made of white sandstone; 
yellow, of yellow sandstone; red, of red sandstone; black, of charcoal, mixed with a 
small proportion of powdered red sandstone to give it weight and stability; "blue," 
made of black and white mixed. These are ground into fine powder, between two 
stones, as the Indians grind corn. The so-called blue is, of course, gray; but it is the 
only inexpensive representative of the blue tint they can obtain and, combined with 
other colors, on the sandy floor, it looks like a real blue. These colored powders, pre- 
pared before the picture is begun, are kept on improvised trays of pine-bark. To apply 
them, the artist picks up a little between his first and second finger and his opposed 
thumb, and allows it to flow out slowly as he moves his hand. When he takes up his 
pinch of powder he blows on his fingers to remove aberrant particles and keep them 
from falling on the picture, out of place. When he makes a mistake he does not brush 
away the color; he obliterates it by pouring sand on it and then draws the corrected 
design on the new surface. 

The dry-paintings of the largest size, which are drawn on the floor of the medi- 
cine-lodge, are often ten to twelve feet in diameter. They are sometimes so large that 
the fire in the center of the lodge must be moved to one side to accommodate them. 
They are made as near to the west side of the lodge as practicable. The lodge is 
poorly lighted, and on a short winter day the artists must often begin their work 
before sunrise if they would finish before nightfall, which it is essential they should do. 

To prepare the ground work for a picture in the lodge, several young men go 
forth and bring in a quantity of dry sand in blankets; this is thrown on the floor and 
spread out over a surface of sufficient size, to the depth of about three inches; it is 
leveled and made smooth by means of the broad oaken battens used in weaving. 

The drawings are begun as much toward the center as the design will permit, 
due regard being paid to the precedence of the points of the compass; the figvirc in the 
east being first, that in the south second, that in the west third, and that in the nortli 
fourth. The figures in the periphery come after these. The reason for thus working 



76 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

from within, outward is practical; it is that the operators may not have to step over 
and thus risk the safety of their finished work. 

The pictures are drawn according to an exact system, except in certain well 
defined cases, where the limner is allowed to indulge his fancy. This is the case with 
the embroidered pouches the gods carry at the waist. Within reasonable limits the 
artist may give his god as handsome a pouch as he wishes. On the other hand, some 
parts are measured by palms and spans and not a line of the sacred design may be 
varied in them. Straight and parallel lines are drawn with the aid of a tightened cord. 
The naked bodies of the mythical figures are first drawn and then the clothing is 
put on. 

The shamans declare that these pictures are transmitted unaltered from year to 
year and from generation to generation. It may be doubted if such is strictly the case. 
No permanent design is anywhere preserved by them and there is no final authority 
in the tribe. The pictures are carried from winter to winter in the fallible memories 
of men. They may not be drawn in the summer. The custom of destroying these 
pictures at the close of the ceremonies and preserving no permanent copies of them 
arose, no doubt, largely from a desire to preserve the secrets of the lodge from the 
uninitiated ; but it had also perhaps a more practical reason for its existence. The 
Navahos had no way of drawing permanent designs in color. When it became known 
to the shamans (and no attempt was ever made to hide the fact from them) that the 
author kept water-color drawings of the sacred pictures in his possession, these men, 
at the proper season, when about to perform a ceremony, often brought their assistants 
to look at the drawings, and then and there would lecture the young men and call their 
attention to special features in the pictures, thus, no doubt, saving themselves much 
trouble afterwards in the medicine-lodge. These water-colors were never shown to 
the uninitiated among the Indians and never to any Indian during the forbidden 
season. 

Owing to the large place the dry-palntlngs have in the sacred or 
ceremonial life of the Navaho, I have included among the pictures a plate 
of the dry-painting representing the Place and Vision of the JFIiirling 
Logs (Fig. 40). The myth or legend connected with this would take 
up many pages even to outline, hence I must refer those who are inter- 
ested to the great work, of Dr. Matthews, The Night Chant, published 
by the American Museum of Natural History, from which both the illus- 
tration and text are taken. 

The chief character in the story is Bitahatini, or the Visionary, who, 
whenever he went out by himself, heard, or thought he heard, the songs 
of spirits sung to him. His three brothers had no faith in him and said: 
" When you return from your solitary walks and tell us you have seen 
strange things and heard strange songs you are mistaken; you only 
imagine you hear these songs and you see nothing unusual." 

In one of Bitahatini's journeys he had marvelous and wonderful 
experiences with the gods which are now regarded as of the utmost 
Importance and are introduced Into the nine-days' and nights' ceremonies 
of "The Night Chant." In these experiences he was taught certain 
things by the yei, or gods, of the Navaho, and in the legend there is 




Dry-Painting Representing the Place and Vision of the 
Whirling Logs. 

((.|.Ullv^^ if Aiiuiii.Mf Mu^L-mn "f X.itur.il nisinr>.l |1'a<;k 7f.| 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 77 

a hint of an idea that it may, at one time, have been woven into a blanket 
of cotton, for the old medicine man who related the story said: 

The yci did not draw this picture upon tlie sand as we do now; they had it on 
a sheet of some substance called ncsha. We do not know now what this substance 
was; it may have been cotton. They unfolded this sheet whenever they wanted to 
look at the picture. The yei who unfolded it to show to the prophet (or Visionary) 
said : " We will not give you this picture ; men are not as good as we ; they might 
quarrel over the picture and tear it, and that would bring misfortune; the black 
cloud would not come again, the rain would not fall, the corn would not grow; 
but you may paint it on the ground with colors of the earth." 

The picture, therefore, is painted by the medicine man with the 
greatest care and represents the vision of the prophet at the lake 
To'nihilin. 

The bowl of water in the center, sprinkled with charcoal, symbolizes the lake. 
The black cross represents the spruce logs crossing one another. The colors edging 
the cross show the white foam on the waters, the yellow water-pollen, the blue and 
red rainbow tints. 

Four stalks of com are depicted as growing on the shores of the lake; each 
has three roots and two ears. The white stalk of corn, according to its color, 
belongs to the east ; the blue, to the south ; the yellow to the west, and the black 
to the north ; but the conditions of the picture require that these stalks should be 
directed to intermediate points. Each stalk is bordered with a contrasting color. 

Eight yei or divine characters — four male and four female — are shown seated on 
the floating logs. The legs of the four gods in the periphery of the picture are 
depicted; this is to indicate that they are standing; but the legs of the eight gods 
on the cross are not depicted; this is done to indicate that they are sitting; the feet 
seem hanging below the logs. The four outer yci, on the cross, dressed in black, 
are males. The sex is indicated : ( i ) by the round head representing the cap-like 
or helmet-like mask which a personator of a male divinity wears; (2) by showing 
attached to the mask the two eagle-plumes and the tuft of owl-feathers worn by 
each male dancer in the dance of the last night; (3) by the symbol of a spruce 
twig in the left hand and of a gourd rattle painted white in the right — such imple- 
ments are carried by the male dancers. The four inner yti, dressed in white are 
females. The sex is indicated: (i) by the rectangular mask or domino; (2) by 
the yellow arms and chests — females were created of yellow corn and males of 
white corn, according to the myths — and (3) by a s\nibol of a spruce wand in 
each hand, for such wands does the female dancer carry in the dance the last night. 

The figures in the north and south represent Ganaskidi or humpbacks as they 
appear in the rites. These are Mountain Sheep or Bighorn Gods, which figure so 
prominently in the myth of the Visionary. The blue male mask, the headdress 
with its zigzag line for white lightning, the radiating scarlet feathers to represent 
sunbeams, the blue imitation horns of the mountain sheep, the black sack of plenty 
on the back, and the gis or staff on which the laden god leans, are all symbolized 
or depicted in the picture. 

The white figure in the east is that of Hnstseyalti, the Talking God. He is 
thus represented: He wears the white mask which the personator of this character 



78 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

always wears in the ceremonies, with its eagle-plumes tipped with breath-feathers, 
its tuft of yellow owl-feathers, its ornament of fox-skin under the right ear, and its 
peculiar mouth-symbol and ear-symbols, but without the corn-symbol on the nose. 
He carries a pouch made of the gray skin of Abert's squirrel (Sciurus Aberti), which 
is depicted with care. The general gray of the squirrel is shown by the gray or 
so-called blue color of the body. The fact that the hairs of the animal are tipped 
with white is indicated by making a white margin and by sprinkling white powder 
lightly over the blue — the latter device is very imperfectly shown in the illustra- 
tion. The black tips on ears, nose, and feet, as well as the chestnut spot on the 
back, are indicated — the latter by a short red marginal line interrupting the white. 

The black figure in the west is that of Hastseliogan. He is shown in this man- 
ner: He wears a beautifully ornamented black dress and a blue mask, decorated 
with eagle-plumes and owl-feathers. The ornament under his right ear consists 
of strips of otter-skin with porcupine quills. He carries in his hand a black wand 
colored with charcoal of four different plants, ornamented with a single whorl of 
turkey-feathers, with two eagle-feathers tied on the cotton string, with a white 
ring at the base of the whorl, and with the skins of two bluebirds. 

The two Ganaskidi and Hastseliogan are supposed to be punching the logs and 
causing them to whirl with their staves, while Hastseyalti scatters pollen from 
his pouch. 

Surrounding the picture on three sides, appears the anthropomorphic rainbow, 
or rainbow goddess, wearing the rectangular female mask and carrying at the waist 
an embroidered pouch, tied on with four strings. The hands of all the other 
divinities are shown occupied, but the hands of the rainbow are shown empty; this 
is that they may be ready to receive the cup of medicine which is placed on them 
after the picture is finished. 

The rainbow and the eight divinities on the cross are represented with breath- 
feathers tied on the tops of the heads by means of white cotton strings, and the 
horns of the Ganaskidi are similarly decked. All the gods are shown with gar- 
nished moccasins, tied with white strings. All of those showing their legs have 
rainbow garters. Five have ornamented fringes on their kilts or loincloths. The 
bodies of all are fringed with red to represent sunlight; the Navaho artist does not 
confine the halo to the head of his holy subject. All have ear-pendants of tur- 
quois and coral. The eight central figures are represented with strips of fox-skin — 
blue and yellow — hanging from elbows and wrists and garnished at their ends. 
Such adornments, it is said, were once used in the dance, but are now obsolete; they, 
in turn, represented beams of ligiit. The yellow horizontal line at the bottom of 
each pictured mask represents a band at the bottom of the actual mask worn by 
the actor, and this band in turn symbolizes the yellow evening light. 

All have the neck depicted in the same manner. The blue is generally con- 
ceded by the shamans to symbolize the collar of spruce twigs; but opinion is divided 
with regard to the meaning of the transverse red lines. The original significance 
of these is perhaps forgotten. Some say they represent the rings of the trachea; 
but those shamans whose opinion the writer most values say they represent an 
obsolete neck ornament called Isitsc'yo, or cherry-beads, which was made neither of 
cherries or corals. 

It is well now to consider a few Nature symbols that are extensively 
used by the Navahos today in their religious ceremonials. As corn is one 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



79 



i1 



THT iV 13' 

i 



Fig. 41 



of the most important foods of the Navaho, it plays a great part in all 
their ceremonies. Its symbol is used continually, both on dry-paintings 
and sacred masks. On many of these it is represented as an 
irregular upright stem with waving leaves on either side 
and the corn branching out higher up the stalk, with the 
pollen-laden flower above. (See P^ig. 41.) 

The sign or symbol for the eye is found on the sacred 
masks used in the dances and other ceremonials. The 
mouth is similarly represented on these masks. 

On the sand-paintings sunbeams are made of radiating 
scarlet feathers, but when drawn are represented by straight lines parallel, 
and, if possible, in some scarlet or red color. 

On the masks they are shown by ten quills of the red-shafted wood- 
pecker, radiating from the edge of the crown, which is painted black to 
represent the storm-cloud. They then symbolize sunbeams streaming out 
of the edge of a dark cloud. 

Another design is that called the queue symbol, which represents the 
scalps of their enemies. It is painted on the body of the representative 

of their god Tobadzistsini, or Child of the 
Water. The Navahos and many other tribes of 
the Southwest wear the hair done up in a queue, 
which is not allowed to dangle, as does that of 
the Chinese, but is tied up close to the occiput; 
hence the symbol of a queue is also that of a 
scalp. Sometimes the symbols are closed, and 

Figs 4^* 43 44 i • i • i i* 

■ "' ' at other times open, as shown m the diagram. 

The open symbol has a different significance from the closed symbol. (See 

Figs. 42, 43> 44-) 

A design that is often found on the blanket is the "bow" (Fig. 45). 
These are placed upon the body of the personator of the god 
Nayenezgani, are always made with five different lines drawn 
from the above downward and in an established order from 
which no deviation is allowed, as that would destroy the effect 
desired. When a bow is to be represented as unstrung, the 
upper end of the cord is unattached, as shown in Fig. 46. 

Zigzag lines generally represent lightning, and in the Navaho myths 
the gods are said to carry on their persons strings of real lightning, which 
they use as ropes. 

Whenever zigzag lines are painted in white on a black background 
they symbolize lightning on the face of a cloud. 

In the foregoing is a wealth of proof that the Navaho is essentially 
a religious being; that he symbolizes almost everything; that he regards 




Figs. 45 



8o INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

these symbols as more than mere decorative designs; in fact, that they 
speak to him in no uncertain terms of sacred and mysterious things that 
he must regard and remember. 

Is it then an irrational assumption that in the earlier day, before 
the commercial spirit of our money-mad civilization had entirely driven 
out their ancient reverence from many of the Navahos, the simple-hearted, 
reverent, and religious weavers put into their blankets the thoughts that 
moved them, the ambitions and aspirations that inspired them, the hopes 
that sustained them, and the religious ideas that guided them in their 
somewhat rude and rough pathway through life? That, in fact, their 
blankets i^ere human documents, though pathetically inadequate, when 
compared with the white race's literature. 

While from the foregoing enough has been presented to show that 
the Navaho has taken many of his symbols or designs from Nature, it 
must not be forgotten that his nearest neighbors, the Pueblo Indians, 
especially the Hopis, decorated their pottery with a wealth of design that 
will be the surprise and admiration of the modern designer when he ob- 
serves it for the first time. 

The importance of this close proximity to the Pueblos and of the 
marvelous art development these sedentary people had attained in the 
decoration of their pottery, cannot be over estimated. Like produces 
like; we are the product of our heredity and environment; we develop 
along the lines of least resistance — these are axiomatic propositions that 
help us understand the development of the Navaho weavers as creators 
of artistic and striking designs. 

Neither should it be overlooked that the Pueblo weavers were using 
colors and incorporating similar designs into their textiles that they were 
placing upon their pottery long prior to the coming of the Spaniards into 
New Mexico (ii;4o). Indeed in the American Museum of Natural His- 
tory In New York there Is a fine specimen of weaving in colors, taken 
from a prehistoric Cliff Dwelling, in which the design Is closely similar 
to some of the pottery designs herein presented. 

It is to an elaborate and beautifully illustrated monograph by Dr. 
J. Walter Fewkes, published by the Bureau of American Ethnology, that 
we owe our knowledge of these designs, and to Dr. Fewkes, and Dr. 
F. W. Hodge, Chief of the Bureau, we are Indebted for the privilege of 
reproducing them here. 

After showing the human figure, the whorls In which the hair of the 
Hop! maiden Is dressed, mythic personages, the human hand, quadrupeds, 
reptiles, tadpoles, butterflies, moths, dragon flies, birds, feathers, vege- 
tables, etc., Dr. Fewkes finally comes to a consideration of geometri- 
cal figures. 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 8i 

In regard to the interpretation of these figures he frankly says: 

Two extreme views are current in regard to the significance of these designs. 
To one school everything is symbolic of something or some religious conception ; to 
the other the majority are meaningless save as decorations. I find tlie middle path 
the more conservative, and while regarding many of the designs as highly con- 
ventionalized symbols, believe that there are also many where the decorator had no 
thought of symbolism. 

It must be clearly remembered that in giving his explanations of 
these symbols, Dr. Fewkes is working ziiih prehistoric material, purely 
guessing at the significance, for he has no possible means of kno'aiiuj the 
mind of the decorator. Hence, his words must be taken at the value he 
himself places upon them as far as definite knowledge of the symbolism 
involved is concerned. But the symbols or designs are themselves of 
superlative value, as demonstrating the artistic and inventive genius of 
the ancient aboriginal potters, and revealing how prolific and creative 
they were. 

Might not the Navaho zveavers have been the same? If they were 
not, then the fact should not be overlooked that they had this wealth of 
design in the old pottery constantly before them to copy, or from which 
they might receive suggestions. 

After explaining the presence and meaning of crosses, swastikas, 
terraced figures, the crook, the germinative symbol, and broken lines, 
Dr. Fewkes proceeds: 

The simplest form of decoration on the exterior of a 
food bowl is a band encircling it. This line may be complete 
or it may be broken at one point. The next more complicated 
geometric decoration is a double or multiple band. The break- 
ing up of this multiple band into parallel bars is shown in Fig. 
47. These bars generally have a quadruple arrangement, and 
are horizontal, vertical, or, as m the illustration, inclined at an lei line decoration 

angle. They are often found on the lips of the bowls and in 

a similar position on jars, dippers, and vases. The parallel lines shown in Fig. 48 
are seven in number, and do not encircle the bowl. They are joined by a broad 





Fio. 48 — Parallel lines fused at one point 



connecting hand near one extremity. The number of parallel bands in this decoration 
is highly suggestive. 



82 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



Four parallel bands encircle the bowl shown in Fig. 49, but they are so 
modified in their course as to form a number of trapezoidal figures placed with alter- 
nating sides parallel. This interesting pattern is found only on one vessel. 

Fig. 49 — Parallel lines with zigzag arraDgcment 

The use of simple parallel bars, arranged at equal intervals on the outside 
of food bowls, is not confined to these vessels, for they occur on the margin of vases, 

Hcups and dippers. They likewise occur on ladle handles, where they are 
arranged in alternate tranverse and longitudinal clusters. 
The combination of two vertical bands connected by a horizontal 
band, forming the letter H, is an ornamental design frequently occurring 
on the finest Hopi ware. Fig. 50 shows such an H form, which is 
ordinarily repeated four times about the bowl. 

The interval between the parallel bands around the vessel may be 
very much reduced in size, and some of the bands may be of different 
width or otherwise modified. Such a deviation is seen in Fig. 51, which 
has three bands, one of which is broad with straight edges, the other with serrate 
margin and hook-like appendages. 

In Fig. 52 eight bands are shown, the marginal broad with edges entire, and 
the medium pair serrated, the long teeth fitting each other in such a way as to 
impart a zigzag effect to the space which separates them. The remaining four lines, 



Fig. 50 — 
Parallel lines 

connected 

with middle 

bar 




FiQ. 51 — Parallel lines ot different width ; serrate margin 

two on each side, appear as black bands on a white ground. It will be noticed that 
an attempt was made to relieve the monotony of the middle band of Fig. 52 by the 




Fig. 52 — Parallel lines ot different width ; median serrate 

introduction of a white line in zigzag form. A similar result was accomplished in 
the design in Fig. 53 by rectangles and dots. 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



83 



The modification of the multiple bands in Fig. 53 has produced a very different 
decorative form. This design is composed of five bands, the marginal on each side 



^g^ 



^A 



^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ 



Fig. 53 — Parallel Hues of diffcreut widtli ; marginal serrate 

serrate, and the middle band relatively very broad, with diagonals, each containing 
four round dots regularly arranged. In Fig. 54 there are many parallel, non-con- 
tinuous bands of different breadth, arranged in groups separated by triangles with 




Fig. 54 — Parallel lines and triangles 



sides parallel, and the whole united by bounding lines. This is the most compli- 
cated form of design where straight lines are used. 

We have thus far considered modifications brought about by fusion and other 
changes in simple parallel lines. They may be confined to one side of the food bowl, 



Fig. 5j — Line with alternate triangles 



may repeat each other at intervals, or surround the whole vessel. Ordinarily, how- 
ever, they are confined to one side of the bowls from Sikyatki. 

Returning to the single encircling band, it is found, in Fig. 55, broken up into 
alternating equilateral triangles, each pair united at their right angles. This 




Fig. 5G — Single line with alternate spurs 

modification is carried still further in Fig. 56, where the triangles on each side 
of the single line are prolonged into oblique spurs, the pairs separated a short dis- 



84 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



tance from each other. In Fig. 57 there is shown still another arrangement of these 
triangular decorations, the pairs forming hourglass-shape figures connected by an 








Fig. 57 — Single line with hourglass figures 



encircling line passing through their points of junction. In Fig. 58 the double tri- 
angles, one on each side of the encircling band, are so placed that their line of 
separation is lost, and a single triangle replaces the pair. These are connected by 
the line surrounding the bowl and there is a dot at the smallest angle. In Fig. 




Fig. 58 — Single lines with triangles 

59 there is a similar design, except that alternating with each triangle, which bears 
more decoration than that shown in Fig. 58, there are hourglass figures composed of 
ovals and triangles. The dots at the apex of that design are replaced by short 
parallel lines of varying width. The triangles and ovals last considered are arranged 



Fig. 59 — Single line with alternate triangles and ovals 

symmetrically in relation to a simple band. By a reduction in the intervening 
spaces these triangles may be brought together and the line disappears. I have 
found no specimen of design illustrating the simplest form of the resultant motive, 
but that shown in Fig. 60 is a new combination comparable with it. 




Fig. 60 — Triangles and quadrilaterals 



The simple triangular decorative design reaches a high degree of complication 
in Fig. 60, where a connecting line is absent, and two triangles having their smallest 
angles facing each other are separated by a lozenge-shape figure made up of many 
parallel lines placed obliquely to the axis of the design. The central part is com- 
posed of seven parallel lines, the marginal of which, on two opposite sides, is 
minutely dentate. The median band is very broad and is relieved by two w.ivy 
lines. The axis of the design on each side is continued into two triangular spurs, 
rising from a rectangle in the middle of each triangle. This complicated design is 
the highest development reached by the use of simple triangles. In Fig. 61, how- 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



85 



ever, we have a simpler form of decoration, in which no element other than the 
rectangle is employed. In the chaste decoration seen in Fig. 62 the use of the 




Fig. 01 — Triangle with spurs 

rectangle is shown combined with the triangle on a simple encircling band. This 
design is reducible to that shown in Fig. 60, but it is simpler, yet not less effective. 




Fig. 62 — Rectangle with single line 

In Fig. 63 there is an aberrant form of design in which the triangle is used 
in combination with parallel and oblique bands. This form, while one of the sim- 




FiG. 6" — Double triangle ; multiple lines 

plest in its elements, is effective and characteristic. The triangle predominates in 
Fig. 64, but the details are worked out in rectangular patterns, producing the ter- 
raced designs so common in all Pueblo decorations. Rectangular figures are more 



Fig. 64 — Double triangle ; terraced edges 



commonly used than the triangular in the decoration of the exterior of bowls, and 
their many combinations are often very perplexing to analyze. 



86 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



In Fig. 65, starting with the simple encircling band, it is found divided into 
alternating rectangles. The line is continuous, and hence one side of each rectangle 



ac 



ac 



ac 



Fig. 65 — Single line; closed fret 

is not complete. Both this design and its modification in Fig. 66 consist of an 
unbroken line of equal breadth throughout. In the latter figure, however, the open- 
ings in the sides are larger or the approach to a straight line closer. The forms 



Fig. 66 — Single line ; open fret 

are strictly rectangular, with no additional elements. Fig. 67 introduces an impor- 
tant modification of the rectangular motive, consisting of a succession of lines broken 
at intervals, but when joined always arranged at right angles. 



J 



Fig. 67 — Single line ; broken fret 



Possibly the least complex form of rectangular ornamentation, next to a simple 
bar or square, is the combination shown in Fig. 68, a type in which many changes 
are made in interior as well as in exterior decoration of Pueblo ware. One of these 




Fig. 68 — Single line ; parts displaced 

is shown in Fig. 69, where the figure about the vessel is continuous. An analysis 
of the elements in Fig. 70 shows squares united at their angles, like the last, but 
that in addition to parallel bands connecting adjacent figures there are two marginal 



Fig. 69 — Open fret ; attachment displaced 



bands uniting the series. Each of the inner parallel lines is bound to a marginal on 
the opposite side by a band at right angles to it. The marginal lines are unbroken 
through the length of the figure. Like the last, this motive also may be regarded as 
developed from a single line. 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



87 



Figs. 71 and 72 are even simpler than the design shown in Fig. 69, with 
appended square key patterns, all preserving rectangular forms and destitute of all 




Fig. 70 — Simple rectangular design 

Others. They are of S-form, and differ more especially in the character of their 
appendages. 




Fig. 71 — Rectangular reversed S-form 




Fig. 72 — Rectangular Sform with crooks 



While the same rectangular idea predominates in Fig. 73, it is worked out 
with the introduction of triangles and quadrilateral designs. This fairly com- 
pound pattern, however, is still classified among rectangular forms. A combination 
of rectangular and triangular geometric designs, in which, however, the former 




Fig. 73— Rectangular S-form with triangles 



predominate, is shown in Fig. 74, which can readily be reduced to certain of those 
forms already mentioned. The triangles appear to be subordinated to the rect- 



88 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



angles, and even they are fringed on their longer sides with terraced forms. It 
may be said that there but two elements involved, the rectangle and the triangle. 




Fig. 74 — Rectangular S-form with terraced triangles 

The decoration in Fig. 75 consists of rectangular and triangular figures, the 
latter so closely approximated as to leave zigzag lines in white. These lines are 
simply highly modified breaks in bands which join in other designs, and lead by 
comparison to the so-called " line of life " which many of these figures illustrate. 




ViQ. 75 — S-form with Interdigltatlng spurs 

The distinctive feature of Fig. 76 is the square, with rectangular designs 
appended to diagonally opposite angles and small triangles at intermediate corners. 
These designs have a distant resemblance to figures later referred to as highly con- 
ventionalized birds, although they may be merely simple geometrical patterns which 
have lost their symbolic meaning. 




Fig. 7(1 — Square with rectangles and parallel lines 

Fig. 77 shows a complicated design, introducing at least two elements in addi- 
tion to rectangles and triangles. One of these is a curved crook etched on a black 
ground. In no other exterior decoration have curved lines been found except in the 
form of circles, and it is worthy of note how large a proportion of the figures are 
drawn in straight lines. The circular figures with three parallel lines extending 
from them are found so constantly in exterior decorations, and are so strikingly like 
some of the figures elsewhere discussed, that I have ventured a suggestion in regard 
to their meaning. I believe they represent feathers, because the tail feathers of cer- 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



89 



tain birds are s\mbolized in that manner, and their number corresponds with those 
generally depicted in the highly conventionalized tails of birds. 





<&. 



E 




Fig. 77 — Rectangles, triangles, stars, and feathers 



In Fig. 78 a number of these parallel lines are represented, and the general 
character of the design is rectangular. In Fig. 79 is shown a combination of 




Fig. 7S — Crook, feathers, and parallel lines 



rectangular and triangular figures with three tapering points and circles with lines 
at their tips radiating instead of parallel. Another modification is shown in Fig. 




Fig. 79 — Crooks and feathers 



80 in which the triangle predominates, and Fig. 81 evidently represents one-half of 
a similar device with modifications. 




Fig. 80 — Rectangle, triangles, and feathers 



One of the most common designs on ancient pottery is the stepped figure, a 
rectangular ornamentation, modifications of which are shown in Figs. 82, 83, and 
84. This is a very common design on the interior of food vessels, where it is com- 
monly interpreted as a rain-cloud symbol. 



E 




Fig. 81 — TiTrarr.i .riH.k. triaiij;! 



Of all patterns on ancient Tusayan ware, that of the terrace figures most 
closely resemble the geometrical ornamentation of cliff-house pottery, and there 
seems every reason to suppose that this form of design admits of a like interpreta- 
tion. The evolution of this pattern from plaited basketry has been ably discussed 



90 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



by Holmes and Nordenskiold. The terraced forms from the exterior of the food 
bowls here considered are highly aberrant; they may be forms of survivals, motives 
of decoration which have persisted from very early times. Whatever the origin of 
the stepped figure in Pueblo art was, it is well to remember, as shown by Holmes, 




Fig. 82— Double key 



that it is " impossible to show that any particular design of the highly constituted 
kind was desired through a certain identifiable series of progressive steps." 

For some unknown reason the majority of the simple designs on the exterior 
of food bowls from Tusayan are rectangular, triangular, or linear in their charac- 






Fio. 83 — Triangular terrace 

ter. Many can be reduced to simple or multiple lines. Others were suggested by 
plaited ware. 

In Fig. 82 is found one of the simplest of rectangular designs, a simple band, 
key pattern in form, at one end, with a re-entrant square depression at the opposite 




Fig. 84 — Crook, serrate end 

extremity. In Fig. 83 is an equally simple terrace pattern with stepped figures at the 
ends and in the middle. These forms are common decorative elements on the 
exterior of jars and vases, where they occur in many combinations, all of which are 
reducible to these types. The simplest form of the key pattern is shown in Fig. 84, 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



91 



and in Fig. 85 there is a second modification of the same design a little more compli- 
cated. This becomes somewhat changed in Fig. 86, not only by the modifications 
of the two extremities, but also by the addition of a median geometric figure. 




Fig. 85 — Key pattern ; rectangle and triangles 




Fig. 8C — Rectangle and crook 

The design in Fig. 87 is rectangular, showing a key pattern at one end, with 
two long feathers at the opposite extremity. The five bodies on the same end of the 
figure are unique and comparable with conventionalized star emblems. The series 
of designs in the upper left-hand end of this figure are unlike any which have yet 
been found on the exterior of food bowls, but are similar to designs which have 
elsewhere been interpreted as feathers. On the hypothesis that these two parts of 
the figure are tail-feathers, we find in the crook the analogue of the head of a bird. 
The five dentate bodies on the lower left-hand end of the figure also tell in favor of 
the avian character of the design, for the following reason: These bodies are often 
found accompanying figures of conventionalized birds. They are regarded as modi- 
fied crosses of equal arms, which are all but universally present in combinations with 
birds and feathers, from the fact that in a line of crosses depicted on a bowl one 




Fig. 87 — Crook and tall feathers 



of the crosses is replaced by a design of similar character. The arms of the cross 
are represented ; their intersection is left in white. The interpretation of Fig. 87 
as a highly conventionalized bird design is also in accord with the same interpreta- 
tion of a number of similar, although less complicated, figures which appear with 
crosses. Fig. 88 may be compared with Fig. 87. 



92 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



Numerous modifications of a key pattern, often assuming a double triangular 
form, but with rectangular elements, are found on the exterior of many food bowls. 




Fig. 88 — Rectangle, triangle, and serrate spurs 

These are variations of a pattern, the simplest form of which is shown in Fig. 89. 
Resolving this figure into two parts by drawing a median line, we find the arrange- 
ment is bilaterally symmetrical, the two sides exactly corresponding. Each side 
consists of a simple key pattern with the shank inclined to the rim of the bowl and 
a bird emblem at its junction with the other member. 




Fio. 89 — W-pattern ; terminal crooks 



In Fig. 90 there is a greater development of this pattern by an elaboration of 
the key, which is continued in a line resembling a square spiral. There are also 
dentations on a section of the edge of the lines. 




Fig. 90 — W-pattern ; terminal rectangles 

In Fig. 91 there is a still further development of the same design and a lack 
of symmetry on the two sides. The square spirals are replaced on the left by three 




Fig. 91 — W-pattern, terminal terraces, and crooks 

Stepped figures, and white spaces with parallel lines are introduced in the arms of a 
W-shape figure. 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



93 



In Fig. 92 the same design is again somewhat changed by modification of the 
spirals into three triangles rimmed on one side with a row of dots, which are also 
found on the outer lines surrounding the lower part of the design. 




Fig. 92 — W-pattern ; terminal spurs 



In Fig. 93 the same W-shape design is preserved, but the space in the lower 
re-entrant angle is occupied by a symmetrical figure resembling two tail feathers and 
the extremity of the body of a bird. The median figure is replaced in Fig. 94 by 




Fig. 93 — W-pattern ; lilrd form 



a triangular ornament. In this design the two wings are not symmetrical, but no 
new decorative element is introduced. It will be noticed, however, that there is a 
want of symmetry on the two sides of a vertical line in the figure last mentioned. 




Fig. 94 — Wpattcrn ; median triangle 

The right-hand upper side Is continued into five pointed projections, which fail on the 
left-hand side. There is likewise a difference in the arrangement of the terraced 
figures in the two parts. The sides of the median triangles are formed of alternating 



94 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



black and white blocks, and the quadrate figure which it incloses is etched with a 
diagonal and cross. 

The decoration in Fig. 95 consists of two triangles side by side, each having 
marginal serrations, and a median square key pattern. One side of these triangles 




^WW 



Fig. 95 — Double triangle ; two breath feathers 



is continued into a line from which hang two breath feathers, while the other end 
of the same line ends in a round dot with four radiating straight lines. The tri- 
angles recall the butterfly symbol, the key pattern representing the head. 




Pig. 96 — W-triangle; median trapezoid 



In Fig. 96 there is a still more aberrant form of the W-shape design. The 
wings are folded, ending in triangles, and prolonged at their angles into projections 
to which are appended round dots with three parallel lines. The median portion, 




Fig. 97 — Doulile triangle ; median rectangle 



or that in the re-entrant angle of the W, is a four-sided figure in which the triangle 
predominates with notched edges. Fig. 97 shows the same design with the median 
portion replaced by a rectangle, and in which the key pattern has wholly disap- 




Fig. 98 — Double compound triangle ; median rectangle 

peared from the wings. In Fig. 98 there are still greater modifications, but the 
symmetry about a median axis remains. The ends of the wings, instead of being 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



95 



folded are expanded, and the three triangles formerly inclosed are now free and 
extended. The simple median rectangle is ornamented with a terrace pattern on 
its lower angles. 




Fig. 99 — Double triangle; median triangle 



Fig. 99 shows a design in which the extended triangles are even more regular 
and simple, with triangular terraced figures on their inner edges. The median 
figure is a triangle instead of a rectangle. 




Fig. 100 — Double compound triangle 



Fig. lOO shows the same design with modification in the position of the median 
figure, and a slight curvature in two of its sides. 




FiQ. 101 — Double rectangle ; median rectangle 

Somewhat similar designs, readily reduced to the same type as the last three or 
four which have been mentioned, are shown in Figs. loi and I02. The resemblances 
are so close that I need not refer to them in detail. The W form is wholly lost, 




Fio. 102 — Double rectangle ; median triangle 

and there is no resemblance to a bird, even in its most highly conventionalized forms. 
The median design in Fig. loi consists of a rectangle and two triangles so arranged 
as to leave a rectangular white space between them. In Fig. 102 the median tri- 
angle is crossed by parallel and vertical zigzag lines. 



96 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



In the design represented in Fig. 103 there are two triangular figures, one on 
each side of a median line, in relation to which they are symmetrical. Each triangle 
has a simple key pattern in the middle, and the line from which they appear to 




Fig. 103 — Double triangle with crooks 



hang is blocked of? with alternating black and white rectangles. At either extremity 
of this line there is a circular dot from which extend four parallel lines. 

A somewhat simpler form of the same design is found in Fig. 104, showing a 
straight line above terminating with dots, from which extend parallel lines, and 



EJ»4- 




■W 



Fig. 104 — W-shaped figure ; single line with feathers 

two triangular figures below, symmetrically placed in reference to an hypothetical 
upright line between them. 

Fig. 105 bears a similarity to the last mentioned only so far as the lower half 
of the design is concerned. The upper part is not symmetrical, but no new dec- 




FlG. 105 — Compound rectangle, triangles, and feathers 

orative element is introduced. Triangles, frets, and terraced figures are inserted 
between two parallel lines which terminate in round dots with parallel lines. 

The design in Fig. 106 is likewise unsymmetrical, but it has two lateral tri- 
angles with incurved terrace and dentate patterns. The same general form is 




Fig. 106 — Double triangle 



exhibited in Fig. 107, with the introduction of two pointed appendages facing the 
hypothetical middle line. From the general form of these pointed designs, each of 
which is double, they have been interpreted as feathers. They closely resemble the 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



97 



tail-feathers of bird figures on several bowls in the collection, as will be seen in sev- 
eral of the illustrations. 




Fig. 107 — Double triangle and featbers 



Fig. io8 is composed of two triangular designs fused at the greatest angles. 
The regularity of these triangles is broken by a square space at the fusion. At each 
of the acute angles of the two triangles there are circular designs with radiating 




Fig. 108 — Twin triangles 



lines, a common motive on the exterior of food bowls. Although no new elements 
appear in Fig. io8, with the exception of the bracket marks, one on each side of a 
circle, the arrangement of the two parts about a line parallel with the rim of the 
bowl imparts to the design a unique form. The motive in Fig. 109 is reducible to 




Fig. 109 — Triangle witb terraced appendages 



triangular and rectangular forms, and while exceptional as to their arrangement, no 
new decorative feature is introduced. 

The specimen represented in Fig. no has as its decorative elements, rectangles, 
triangles, parallel lines, and birds' tails, to which may be added star and Crosshatch 




Fig. 110 — Musaie pattern 



motives. It is, therefore, the most complicated of all the exterior decorations which 
have thus far been considered. There is no symmctr>' in the arrangement of figures 
about a central axis, but rather a repetition of similar designs. 



98 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



The use of crosshatching is very common on the most ancient Pueblo ware, 
and is very common in designs on cliff-house pottery. This style of decoration i'* 
only sparingly used on Sikyatki ware. The crosshatching is provisionally inter- 
preted as a mosaic pattern, and reminds one of the beautiful forms of turquoise 
mosaic on shell, bone, or wood, found in ancient pueblos, and best known in modern 
times in the square ear pendants of Hopi women. Fig. i lo is one of the few designs 




Fig. hi — Rectangles, stars, crooks, and parallel lines 

having terraced figures with short parallel lines descending from them. These 
figures vividly recall the rain-cloud symbol with falling rain represented by the 
parallel lines. Fig. ill is a perfectly symmetrical design with figures of stars, rect- 
angles, and parallel lines. It may be compared with that shown in Fig. no in order 
to demonstrate how wide the difference in design may become by the absence of 
symmetrical relationship. It has been shown in some of the previous motives that 
the crook sometimes represents a bird's head, and parallel lines appended to it the 
tail-feathers. Possibly the same interpretation may be given to these designs in the 




Fig, 112— Continuous crooks 

following figures, and the presence of stars adjacent to them lends weight to this 
hypothesis. 

An indefinite repetition of the same pattern of rectangular design is shown in 
Fig. 112. This highly decorative motive may be varied indefinitely by extension or 
concentration, and while it is modified in that manner in many of the decorations 
of vases, it is not so changed on the exterior of food bowls. 

There are a number of forms which I am unable to classify with the foregoing, 
none of which show any new decorative design. All possible changes have been made 




Fio. 113 — Rectangular terrace pattern 



in them without abandoning the elemental ornamental motives already considered. 
The tendency to step or terrace patterns predominates, as exemplified in simple form 
m Fig. 113. In Fig. 114 there is a different arrangement of the same terrace pattern, 
and the design is helped out with parallel bands of different length at the ends of a 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



99 



rectangular figure. A variation in the depth of color of these lines adds to the effective- 
ness of the design. This style of ornamentation is successfully used in the designs rep- 




za 




Fig. 114 — Terrace pattern with parallel lines 

resented in Figs. 115 and 116, in the body of which a crescentic figure in the black 
serves to add variety to a design otherwise monotonous. The two appendages to the 




Fig. 115 — Terrace pattern 



right of Fig. 116 are interpreted as feathers, although their forms depart widely from 
that usually assumed by these designs. The terraced patterns are replaced by dentate 




Fig. 116 — Triangular pattern with feathers 



margins in this figure, and there is a successful use of most of the rectangular and 
triangular designs. 







^^t— Ptf*^li~ 







Fig. 117— S-pattern 



In the specimens represented in Figs. 117 and it 8 marginal dentations are used. 
I have called the design referred to an S-form, which, however, owing to its elongation 
is somewhat masked. The oblique bar in the middle of the figure represents the body 
of the letter, the two extremities taking the forms of triangles. 



lOU 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



So far as the decorative elements are concerned, the design in Fig. 119 can be 
compared with some of those preceding, but it differs from them in combination. The 




Fig. lis — Triangular and terrace figures 




Fig. 119 — Crook, terrace, and parallel lines 




Fig. 120 — Triangles, squares, and terraces 



motive in Fig. 120 is not unlike the ornamentation of certain oriental vases, except from 
the presence of the terraced figures. In Fig. 121 there are two designs separated by 




, Fig. 121 — Bifurcated rectangular design 

an inclined break the edge of which is dentate. This figure is introduced to show the 
method of treatment of alternating triangles of varying depth of color and the breaks 




Fio. 122 — Infolded triangles 



in the marginal bands or " lines of life." One of the simplest combinations of trian- 
gular and rectangular figures is shown in Fig. 122, proving how effectually the original 
design may be obscured by concentration. 



NAVAHO BLANKET DESIGNS 



lOI 



In the foregoing descriptions I have endeavored to demonstrate that, notwith- 
standing the great variety of designs considered, the types used are very limited in 
number. The geometrical forms are rarely curved lines, and it may be said that 
spirals, which appear so constantly on pottery from other (and possibly equally ancient 
or older) pueblos than Sikyatki, are absent in the external decorations of specimens 
found in the ruins of the latter village. 

Every student of ancient and modern pueblo pottery has been impressed by the 
predominance of terraced figures in its ornamentation, and the meaning of these ter- 
races has elsewhere been spoken of at some length. It would, I believe, be going too 
far to say that these step designs always represent clouds, as in some instances they 




Fig. 123— Human hand 

are produced by such an arrangement of rectangular figures that no other forms could 
result. 

The material at hand adds nothing new to the theory of the evolution of the ter- 
raced ornament from basketry or textile productions, so ably discussed by Holmes, 
Nordenskiold, and others. When the Sikyatki potters decorated their ware the orna- 
mentation of pottery had reached a high development, and figures both simple and com- 
plicated were used contemporaneously. While, therefore, we can so arrange them as 
to make a series, tracing modifications from simple to complex designs, thus forming 
a supposed line of evolution, it is evident that there is no proof that the simplest figures 
are the oldest. The great number of terraced figures and their use in the representa- 




FlG. 124 — Animal paw, limb and triangle 



tion of animals seem to me to indicate that they antedate all others, and I see no 
reason why they should not have been derived from basketry patterns. We must, 
however, look to pottery with decorations less highly developed for evidence bearing 
on this point. The Sikyatki artists had advanced beyond simple geometric figures, and 
had so highly modified these that it is impossible to determine the primitive form. 

The human hand also is used as a decorative element in the ornamentation of the 
interior of several food bowls. It is likewise in one instance chosen to adorn the 
exterior. It is the only part of the human limbs thus used. Figure 123 shows the 
hand with marks on the palm probablv intended to represent the lines which are used 
in the measurement of the length of pahos or prayer-sticks. 



I02 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

The limb of an animal with a paw, or possibly a human arm and hand, appears 
as a decoration on the outside of another food bowl, where it is combined with the 
ever-constant stepped figure, as shown in Fig. 124. 

To summarize the subject, then, is it not apparent that, with such a 
wealth of suggestive material around her on every hand, the Navaho 
weaver could scarcely avoid becoming a master in the art of design? 
With this extraordinary environment of art suggestions and the instinctive 
individuality of the weaver asserting itself, it was to be expected that a 
remarkable variety of new designs would be invented or created, and that 
old designs would take on new forms by mutation, and would be placed 
together in new, unique, striking, and attractive combinations. Here, 
therefore, I think we find the fullest and most satisfactory explanation of 
the remarkable wealth of design found in Navaho blanketry. 




Fir,, i-'j. 
Navaho Weaver at Her Open-Air Loom. 

(Co|iyrii;ht Iiy (li-cHiit- R. KniK. L'm-iI by pcrmisiiuii.) 



CHAPTER XIII 

A N avail o Jl'eaver at JVork 

/^NE of the first great surprises to a white visitor to the Navaho 
^^ reservation is that he sees so few Indians or their dwelHngs. Mile 
after mile he drives over the roads through the heart of what seems 
to be an entirely unpeopled country, save for the occasional teams he may 
meet, or the solitary Navaho horseman who now and again passes with a 
word, or in silence. He thinks the barren and waterless nature of the 
country may have to do with this absence of population, and in this he is 
largely correct. It is only where water is to be found — at least not too 
far away — that the Navaho establishes his residence. There must also 
be a patch of arable land within reasonable proximity to supply him with 
the corn that is his daily food. Here, then, he builds his hogan; if for 
summer use, a temporary structure of brush, a rude lean-to against the 
wall of a canyon or an excavated bank, or a mere circular shelter of 
green boughs, made in half an hour by a couple of men skilled in the use 
of the axe. If it is a permanent winter hogan it is built with the solemn 
and serious earnestness which characterizes all the important features 
of a Navaho's life. 

No sooner is the household "settled" than a framework is erected 
outside, merely covered with brush, arrow-weed, or tules to keep oft the 
sun's rays, and under this the loom is set up. Some hogans are built large 
enough to accommodate the loom, but in summer it is always in the open, 
merely placed so that during the working hours of the day it is in the 
shade. 

Not infrequently the loom is set up in the open, the weaver so 
placing it that the sun's rays will not disturb her at the time she expects 
to work. Such a loom is pictured in Fig. 125, made from a copyright 
photograph by George R. King, of Pasadena. 

The Navaho loom is a remarkable exhibition of primitive ingenuity 
and effectiveness. While there are diversities in details, in the main 
practically they are all alike. The accompanying illustration. Fig. 126, is 
from Dr. Matthews's admirable monograph on " Navaho Weavers," 
which appears in the Third Annual Report of the Bureau of American 
Ethnology, and a large portion of the description is in the author's own 
words. Two upright posts set firmly in the ground, wide enough {a a) 

103 



I04 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

apart to accommodate the full width of the blanket to be woven, are braced 
together top and bottom by equally strong cross pieces (be). Trunks 
of small growing trees are occasionally used as the necessary uprights. 
This may be called the frame in which the loom is to be lashed. The 
loom proper has its lower beam (k) and upper beam (d). On neither 
of these, however, is the warp wound. The warp is tied at the top to 
a border cord (h), and also at the bottom. This border cord {h h) is 
lashed or tied with rope colls {e e) to the upper and lower loom beams 
and the warp is thus securely placed. But before weaving can be done 




Fig. 126 — Ordinary Navaho blanket loom 

this warp must be fixed firmly in the frame and stretched tightly, as the 
work demands. This Is done by first of all lashing the lower beam (k) 
to the lower brace (c) of the frame. Then a new stout brace or beam is 
introduced at the top of the loom, which Dr. Matthews appropriately terms 
a "supplementary yarn-beam." This is firmly and securely lashed to the 
upper yarn-beam (/), and then, with a strong rawhide, which is wrapped 
spirally or tied (ff g) around the upper brace of the loom-frame, the 
warp {i i) is made as taut as the weaver desires. 

This supplementary beam also serves another purpose. The blanket 
is woven from the bottom. The weaver squats in front of her work, and 
as soon as weaving is done as high as her arms find it convenient she 



A NAVAHO WEAVER AT WORK 105 

loosens the rawhide lashing of the supplementary yarn-beam and folds 
the woven part of her blanket, securely sewing the upper part of the fold 
to the lower beam. The rawhide lashings are again pulled tight, and this 
is sometimes done so thoroughly that the marks of the sewing remain 
in the blanket for years, sometimes even as long as the blanket itself 
lasts. 

A loose flat stick, sharpened on one side, and some two feet long, 
and, say, three inches broad is the batten stick (/). This is loose and 
inserted by the weaver whenever and wherever desired to "batten," or 
beat down, the weft snug into place. 

A long slender circular stick serves as a heald-rod. The healds are 
made of cord or yarn fastened to a rod (m), and are tied to alternate 
threads of the warp. This heald-rod {m) serves, when pulled forward, 
to open the shed for the insertion of the shuttle. The upper shed is kept 
patent by a stout rod which has no healds attached, and called by Mat- 
thews the shed-rod (??)• A small several-toothed wooden fork serves the 
purpose of the reed in our looms, and is used by the weaver to press in 



Pole No. 2 




Fig. 127 — Diagram showing formation of warp 

place the weft where it is irregularly woven, or does not go completely 
across the warp where it can be wedged home with the batten stick. 

Now let us see the weaver actually at her work. We will assume 
that all prior processes are completed. The weaver has washed, spun, and 
dyed the wool, she has decided upon the size of her blanket, and formu- 
lated in her active and imaginative brain the design that she intends to 
materialize. She is now ready, therefore, for the preparing or construct- 
ing of the warp. Dr. Matthews thus clearly and graphically describes 
the process: 

A frame of four sticks is made, not unlike the frame of the loom, but lying on or 
near the ground, instead of standing erect. The two sticks forming the sides of the 
frame are rough saplings or rails; the two forming the top and bottom are smooth, 
rounded poles — often the poles which afterwards serve as the beams of the loom ; these 
are placed parallel to one another, their distance apart depending on the length of the 
projected blanket. 

On these poles the warp is laid in a continuous string. It is first firmly tied to 
one of the poles, which I call No. i (Fig. 127) ; then is passed over the other pole, 
No. 2, brought back under No. 2 and over No. i, forward again under No. i and 
over No. 2, and so on to the end. Thus the first, third, fifth, etc., turns of the cord 
cross in the middle, the second, fourth, sixth, etc., forming a series of elongated 
figures 8, as shown in the following diagram — and making, in the very beginning 
of the process, the two sheds, which are kept distinct throughout the whole work. 



io6 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

When sufficient string has been laid the end is tied to pole No. 2, and a rod is placed 
in each shed to keep it open, the rods being afterwards tied together at the ends 
to prevent them from falling out. 

This done, the weaver takes three strings (which are afterwards twilled into 
one, as will appear) and ties them together at one end. She now sits outside of one 
of the poles, looking toward the center of the frame, and proceeds thus: (i) She 
secures the triple cord to the pole immediately to the left of the warp; (2) then 
she takes one of the threads (or strands, as they now become) and passes it under the 
first turn of the warp; (3) next she takes a second strand, and twilling it once, or 
oftener, with the other strands, includes with it the second bend of the warp; (4) 
this done, she takes the third strand and, twilling it as before, passes it under the 
third bend of the warp, and thus she goes on until the entire warp in one place is 
secured between the strands of the cord ; ( 5 ) then she pulls the string to its fullest 
extent, and in doing so separates the threads of the warp from one another: (6) a 
similar three stranded cord is applied to the other end of the warp, along the outside 
of the other pole. 

At this stage of the work these stout cords lie along the outer surfaces of the 
poles, parallel with the axes of the latter, but when the warp is taken off the poles 
and applied to the beams by the spiral thread, as above described, and as depicted in 
Fig. 126, and all is ready for weaving, the cords appear on the inner sides of the 
beams, i. e., one at the lower side of the yarn-beam, the other at the upper side of the 
cloth-beam, and when the blanket is finished they form the stout end margins of the 
web. In the coarser grade of blankets the cords are removed and the ends of the warp 
tied in pairs and made to form a fringe. 

When the warp is transferred to the loom the rod which was placed in the 
upper shed remains there, or another rod, straighter and smoother, is substituted 
for it; but with the lower shed, healds are applied to anterior threads, and the rod 
is withdrawn. 

The mode of applying the healds is simple: (i) the weaver sits facing the loom 
in the position for weaving; (2) she lays at the right (her right) side of the loom a 
ball of string which she knows contains more than sufficient material to make the 
healds; (3) she takes the end of this string and passes it to the left through the shed, 
leaving the ball in its original position; (4) she ties a loop at the end of the string 
large enough to admit the hcald-rod ; (5) she holds horizontally in her left hand a 
straightish, slender rod, which is to become the heald-rod — its right extremity touch- 
ing the left edge of the warp — and passes the rod through the loop until the point of 
the stick is even with the third (second anterior from the left) thread of the warp; 
(6) she puts her finger through the space between the first and third threads and 
draws out a fold of the heald-string; (7) she twists this once around, so as to form 
a loop, and pushes the point of the heald-rod on to the right through this loop; (8) 
she puts her finger into the next space and forms another loop; (9) and so on she 
continues to advance her rod and form her loops from left to right until each of the 
anterior (alternate) warp-threads of the lower shed is included in a loop of the heald; 
(10) when the last loop is made she ties the string firmly to the rod near its right end. 

When the weaving is nearly done and it becomes necessary to remove tlie healds, 
the rod is drawn out of the loops, a slight pull is made at the thread, the loops fall 
in an instant, and the straightened string is drawn out of the shed. 

The weaver is now ready to proceed with the actual weaving — the 
insertion of the weft. As before stated, she has no shuttle; small balls 




Fi.;. i-'S^ 
Navaho Weaver at Work. 

Sliciwiiig hatten stick hurizontally I'l-"''! rtaily t.i heat down llu- weft. 





Batten Stick in Position to Allow 
Weft to Pass Through. 



Fk;. i.?o. 
Novel Arrangement of the Loom. 

( l-'rcin a iuiiiuinu l>v (assn!v D.ivi-v. nwiit-cl by 
T. I.. Iluhhdl. Caiiaclo. .\n7.) 



A NAVAHO WEAVER AT WORK 107 

of colored, and larger balls of white, black, or gray yarn being used as 
shuttles, though occasionally a thread may be wrapped around the end of 
a stick for more convenient handling. 

Squatted upon a sheep skin or a folded blanket before the warp, she decides to 
begin by weaving in the lower shed. She draws a portion of the healds towards her, 
and with them the anterior threads of the shed; by this motion she opens the shed 
about I inch, which is not sufficient for the easy passage of the woof. She inserts her 
batten edgewise into this opening and then turns it half around on its long axis, so 
that its broad surface lies horizontally; in this way the shed is opened to the extent 
of the width of the batten — about three inches; next the weft is passed through. In 
Fig. 126 the batten is shown lying edgewise (its broad surfaces vertical), as it appears 
when just inserted into the shed, and the weft, which has been passed through only 
a portion of the shed, is seen hanging out with its end on the ground. In Fig. 129, 
the batten is shown in the second position described, with the shed open to the fullest 
extent necessary, and it is while in this position the weaver passes the shuttle through. 
When the weft is in, it is shoved down to its proper position by means of the reed- 
fork, and then the batten, restored to its first position (edgewise), is brought down 
W'ith firm blows on the weft. It is by the vigorous use of the batten that the Navaho 
scrapes are rendered waterproof. In Fig. 128, the weaver is seen bringing down 
this instrument " in the manner and for the purpose described," as the letters 
patent say. 

When the lower shed has received its thread of weft the weaver opens the upper 
shed. This is done by releasing the healds and shoving the shed-rod down until it 
comes in contact with the healds; this opens the upper shed down to the web. Then 
the weft is inserted and the batten and reed-fork used as before. Thus she goes on 
with each shed alternately until the web is finished. 

It is, of course, desirable, at least in handsome blankets of intricate pattern, to 
have both ends uniform even if the figure be a little faulty in the center. To accom- 
plish this, some of the weavers depend on a careful estimate of the length of each 
figure before they begin, and weave continuously in one direction ; but the majority 
weave a little portion of the upper end before they finish the middle. Sometimes this 
is done by weaving from above downwards; at other times it is done by turning the 
loom upside down and working from below upwards in the ordinary manner. 

The ends of the blanket are bordered with a stout three-ply string applied to the 
folds of the warp. The lateral edges of the blanket are similarly protected by stout 
cords applied to the weft. The way in which these are woven in, next demands our 
attention. Two stout worsted cords, tied together, are firmly attached to each end of 
the cloth-beam just outside the warp; they are then carried upwards and loosely tied 
to the yarn-beam or the supplementary yarn-beam. Every time the weft is turned at 
the edge these two strings are twisted together and the weft is passed through the 
twist; thus one thread or strand of this border is always on the outside. As it is 
constantly twisted in one direction, it is evident that, after a while, a counter twist 
must form which would render the passage of the weft between the cords difficult, 
if the cords could not be untwisted again. These cords are tied loosely to one of the 
upper beams for this purpos^. From time to time the cords are untied and the 
unwoven portion straightened as the work progresses. The coarse blankets do not 
have them. 



io8 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Yet, while this is the rule for all weaving, it is not always followed. 
There seems to be a great deal of self-will, of individuality, of refusal to 
be tied down to rules, among these Navaho weavers, and it is no uncom- 
mon thing to find a weaver doing as is illustrated in Fig. 128, where, 
without any apparent reason, the woof-threads are not taken across the 
whole width of the blanket. In Figs. 143-4-5, which are oi blankets 
that would be called of standard grade (see page 149), the zigzag pattern 
of the design of both blankets is clearly worked without any regard to the 
ordinary demands of woof-weaving, viz., that the threads go straight 
across the blanket to allow of them being battened down evenly. Even 
in the illustrations, if a glass is used, I have no doubt the oblique char- 
acter of the threads can be seen, and expert weavers on the white man's 
machines, to whom I have shown these specimens, express surprise at the 
perfection of the work, and also their inability to understand how it is 
done. This remarkable facility in doing the unusual thing, in finding a 
way to do something that has never been done before, is ever and anon 
cropping up in Navaho work, and necessarily makes the study that much 
the more interesting. 

Another interesting variation in Navaho weaving is shown in Fig. 
130, which is from an excellent painting by Cassidy Davis, in the collec- 
tion of John Lorenzo Hubbell, of Granado, Arizona. For some reason 
the weaver did not wish her loom to stand too high. Her warp, therefore, 
was brought over the upper beam of her loom-frame and lashed to an 
extra beam, securely fastened to the uprights at about half their height. 
In all my thirty years of travel among Navaho weavers I have seen this 
method followed not more than three or four times. 

Before weaving can be begun, however, the yarn must be prepared. 
The processes of dyeing have already been explained, but not those that 
are gone through from gathering the wool to spinning it ready for the 
dye pot. 

Shearing is done in the spring and fall. The Navahos are expert at 
the work, but are neither as rapid, skilful, nor as careful as the Indian 
shearers of California. The fall shearing is begun as early as possible to 
avoid the cold of winter, and in spring it is postponed as long as is safe, so 
as to avoid the sudden storms of that period. 

Just before lambing time the herds are removed to the mountains, 
where there is generally plenty of good pasturage and water. Here 
corrals for their protection are easily constructed, and here they are kept 
— the whole Navaho family often remaining until the lambs are strong 
enough to travel. 

Up to a few years ago the sheep were seldom washed either before 
or after shearing, but now the Government has provided in several places 




Fic. 131. 
Navaho Method of Using Distaff or Spindle. 

tUy pcnnisbion oi llie Durcau uf Anicrii.Jil Ethnology. J 



Fk;. 132. 

Navaho Blanket of the Finest 

Quality. 




Fic. i.y- 

Diagram Showing Arrangement of Threads of 
the Warp in the Healds and on the Rod. 



Imi,. 134. 
Weaving of Saddle Girth. 



(.Ml iIk iUuj^trations of tins i>.ngc by courttsy of 
llu- r.'.ncau of .\incrican Kthnology.) 



A NAVAHO WEAVER AT WORK 109 

on the reservation places for dipping and washing. This keeps the ani- 
mals more healthful, and also materially aidj in cleansing the fleece. 
When shearing time comes the men do the larger part of the work, though 
the women render constant and effective assistance, often catching the 
animals, turning them upon their backs, and completing the shearing 
themselves. American clippers have entirely supplanted the rude flint 
knives that alone were used in the earlier days. 

When the fleece is removed and the wool is to be used for weaving, 
it is first thoroughly tossed, shaken, or beaten against a tree, a wagon 
wheel, upon the rocks or hard ground to remove the sand and as much 
loose and foreign material as can be shaken out. Then it is thrown over 
some object and all the burrs and lumps or matted wool carefully picked 
out. 

Now it is ready to be washed. Bowls are prepared full of the clear- 
est water obtainable, and if it is possible to be near a stream or spring 
advantage is taken of this close proximity. From the weaver's household 
stores several pieces of the root of the amole are taken. Yucca ghiiica, 
Y. baccata, Y. augiistifoUa, Y. radiosa, and Y. elata are all used for this 
purpose, though the second named seems to contain the largest and richest 
saponlne. These roots are beaten between rocks until reduced to a mass of 
fibres, and are then splashed up and down in a bowl of water until the latter 
becomes covered with a rich and soft, foamy lather. In these suds the 
wool is soaked and more or less thoroughly washed, according to the 
habit of the weaver. If she be conscientious and desirous of doing first- 
class work, she well knows the washing must be well done, or the dye will 
not "take" satisfactorily. 

In the case of white wool, which is to be used, without dyeing, also 
of black, brown, and native gray, the careful weaver is extra particular 
to see that the wool is thoroughly washed. The fleeces are then spread 
out on whatever shrubs are nearest at hand to dry. This does not require 
long, as a rule, in the hot sunshine of the Arizona or New Mexico coun- 
try, and the wool is then ready for carding. 

In the olden days teasels were used. These are still found growing 
wild on the reservation. Of late years, however, the traders have sup- 
plied the weavers with the simple and somewhat primitive old-fashioned 
wire-toothed cards, such as our great-grandmothers used to use, and that 
remind us somewhat of a horse's curry-comb. With these — generally 
one in each hand — the wool is carded out until the staple is smooth and 
uniform and the wool made into a long loose roll. 

Both in their loom and distaff the Navahos are rigidly conservative. 
For many years the Mexicans of the Southwest have been using the spin- 
ning wheel, and later, when the Mormons settled on the very edge of 



no INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Navaho territory, they also brought the wheel and endeavored to pre- 
vail upon the Navahos to adopt it. As yet, however, all efforts to lead 
them away from the primitive distaff have failed. They will neither buy, 
make, nor receive a gift of a spinning wheel. 

The distaff, or spindle, held in the hand of the woman illustrated in 
Fig. 131 consists of a smooth round stick, about two feet long, pointed at 
both ends, and of a wheel or disk of flat wood some four or five inches 
in diameter, through the center of which is a small hole, made to hold 
the stick, at about a distance of five or six inches from the butt end of the 
stick. 

When everything is ready for the spinning — carded-wool on a 
blanket on the ground, distaff in the right hand — the spinner squats 
down, Turkish or tailor fashion, and picks up a little of the wool in her 
left hand, into which she sticks the tip of the spindle. With a few 
dexterous turns the wool is soon caught fast, and now the distaff is kept 
spinning by a swift motion of the fingers of the right hand, while with the 
left the wool is drawn out to arms' length to the required thickness. While 
this operation is going on the end of the distaff rests upon the ground, 
and the wool is held so that it is on about a straight line with it. As soon 
as the strand is as long, and twisted as much, as the woman desires, she 
tilts the distaff so that it and the wool-strand are almost at acute angles, 
and, the spindle still kept twirling, the wool is wound up and down the 
upper portion of the stick. This is repeated until the stick will hold no 
more, when the stranded-wool is unwound from the spindle, wrapped 
into balls and laid aside. As soon as all the wool is spun, or so much as 
the weaver thinks she may need, it is all respun, once or twice, or even 
more, according to the thickness and tightness of the yarn needed. The 
second twisting is generally enough for the making of the wool warps, 
but the third twisting gives a tight, strong, bristly cord about as thick as 
ordinary binding twine. For the extra fine blankets the yarn is both fine 
and extra tightly woven. 

Practically all Navaho blankets are "single-ply" — that is, the pattern 
or design is the same on both sides, no matter how elaborate or complex 
this may be. 

To produce their variefrnted patterns they have a separate skein, shuttle, or thread 
for each component of the pattern. Take, for instance, the blanket depicted in Fig. 
132. Across this blanket, between the points a-b, we have two serrated borders, two 
white spaces, a small diamond in the center, and twenty-four serrated stripes, making 
in all twenty-nine component parts of the pattern. Now, when the weaver was 
working in this place, twenty-nine different threads of weft might have been seen 
hanging from the face of the web at one time. When the web is so nearly finished 
that the batten can no longer be inserted in the warp, slender rods are placed in the 
shed, while the weft is passed with increased difficulty on the end of a delicate splinter 



A NAVAHO WEAVER AT WORK in 

and the reed-fork alone presses the warp home. Later it becomes necessary to remove 
even the rod and the shed ; then the alternate threads are separated by a slender stick 
worked in tediously between them, and two threads of woof are inserted — one above 
and the other below the stick. The very last thread is sometimes put in with a darn- 
ing needle. The weaving of the last three inches requires more labor than any foot 
of the previous work. [Matthews.] 

^ While the great majority of blankets are woven in this simple 
"single-ply" style, the Navaho weaver, by deft manipulation and digital 
dexterity gained by years of practice, is able to weave blankets, dresses, 
shirts, etc., in six different styles. Each of these has a separate name, 
(according to Father Berard), and the processes are as follows: 

1. Yistlo. — This is the simple straight method already described, in 
which the woof-strands are drawn horizontally through the warp and 
rammed tight with the batten-stick. Two healds are used in this mode of 
weaving. 

2. Yislibizli. — This word means braided, but is used in connection 
with blankets to designate a peculiar figure or run of the web, which runs 
diagonally across the blanket, giving it the appearance as if it were begun 
in one corner and woven to the opposite corner. The position of the loom 
and of the weaver is the same as in No. i, but more healds are used. 

3. limas. — This is the diagonal weave, and Dr. Matthews thus 
describes the process: 

"For making diagonals, the warp is divided into four sheds; the uppermost 
one of these is provided with a shed-rod, the others are supplied with healds. I will 
number the healds and sheds from below upwards. The diagram. Fig. 133, shows 
how the threads of the warp are arranged in the healds and on the rod. 

" When the weaver wishes the diagonal ridges to run upwards from right to left, 
she opens the sheds in regular order from below upwards, thus: First, second, third, 
fourth, first, second, third, fourth, etc. When she wishes the ridges to trend in the 
contrary direction she opens the sheds in the inverse order. I found it convenient to 
take my illustrations of this mode of weaving from a girth. In Figs. 134 and 135 
the mechanism is plainly shown. The lowest (first) shed is opened and the first set 
of healds drawn forward. The rings of the girth take the place of the beams of 
the loom. 

" There is a variety of diagonal weaving practiced by the Navahos which produces 
diamond figures; for this the mechanism is the same as that just described, except that 
the healds are arranged differently on the warp. The diagram, Fig. 136, will explain 
this arrangement. 

" To make the most approved series of diamonds the sheds are opened twice in 
the direct order (i. e., from below upwards) and twice in the inverse order, thus: 
First, second, third, fourth, first, second, third, fourth, third, second, first, fourth, 
third, second, first, fourth, and so on. If this order is departed from, the figures 
become irregular. If the weaver continues more than twice consecutively in either 
order, a row of V-shaped figures is formed, thus: WW. Fig. 137 shows a portion 
of a blanket which is part plain diagonal and part diamond." 



112 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

4. Diyiigi, or D'lyogi. — This is really not a special style of weave, 
since it is the same as No. i, only that soft, loose yarn is used, which 
makes the blanket look thick, soft and fluffy, and that is expressed by the 
word diyiigi, or diyog't. 

5. Ditsosi. — This word, meaning fuzzy, or downy, is applied to a 
species of blankets or rugs the one side of which looks very much like a 
long-haired sheep pelt, with the wool in small tufts. When the woman 
weaves this sort of blanket she has a quantity of long-haired wool near 
at hand. She first weaves about an inch, then, taking pinches of the long- 
haired wool, inserts them between the warp on the top of the woven part, 
leaving a tuft of about two inches out in front. When the whole row is 
thus tufted she rams it down with the batten-stick, weaves another course 
of about an inch, inserts another row of tufts, and thus continues until the 
blanket is finished. When finished it has the appearance of a shaggy pelt. 

6. Ahieestloni. — This is a double or two-ply weave, which shows a 
different design on either side. In weaving in this style as many as eight 
healds are used. By manipulating them in the right way, the desired result 
is obtained. In order to understand just how it is done, one would have to 
see a woman at work, and pay close attention to the manner of weaving, 
and to the arrangement and use of the healds. 

That indefatigable student and observer. Dr. Matthews, found a 
blanket of this double or two-ply weave, and after gaining all the infor- 
mation he could upon the subject wrote the following article in the Amer- 
ican Anthropologist. The whole of it is so interesting that it is quoted 
without abridgment: 

As the American Indians are generally believed to be neither imitative nor inven- 
tive, it is well to consider a remarkable instance of their aptness in learning, and, 
added thereto, an example of their inventive advancement. 

The whole art of weaving among the Navahos is worthy of close study for many 
reasons, but not least for a psychological reason. We have fair evidence from the 
early Spanish explorers that they knew nothing of loom-weaving three hundred years 
ago. The Navaho traditions (and the evidence of these is not without value) cor- 
roborate such statements. They tell us many times that the early Athabascan intruders 
in New Mexico and Arizona dressed themselves in rude mats or garments made of 
juniper bark, which must have been woven by the fingers without mechanical appli- 
ances. But we have also the evidence of travelers of a still earlier date that the 
sedentary Indians who were neighbors of the Navahos used the loom and wove fabrics 
of cotton and other materials. We have archaeological evidence that the Pueblos and 
cliff-dwellers wove, with the assistance of a mechanism, webs of cotton, yucca-fiber, 
feathers, and hair, and that they knitted with wooden needles leggins of human hair; 
for this purpose, it is thought, they saved their combings. 

Three hundred years ago, then, the Navahos knew nothing of the loom; but in 
the meantime they have become a race of expert loom-weavers, and they have accom- 
plished this without coercion or any such formal methods of instruction as we employ; 




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T' M-^^'^i^V"' 



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.-.riiry.- ■,A-.°»i;t 



A NAVAHO WEAVER AT WORK 113 

they having "picked it up." True, they had their instructors near at hand — the 
sedentary' Indians with whom they have traded and intermarried — but other wild 
tribes of the southwest had the same opportunities to learn and never profited by 
them. All had an equal chance to steal sheep from the Mexicans; but all did not 
become shepherds. The weaving of wool was, of course, unknown in America before 
the Spaniards introduced sheep in the sixteenth century; but the Indians were not 
obliged to change their old looms when the new staple was introduced. 

Within the time to which I allude, not only have the Navahos learned from 
their neighbors, the sedentary Indians, the art of weaving, but they have come to 
excel their teachers. Although blankets are still woven in Zuni today, if an inhabitant 
of that pueblo desires a specially fine serape, he purchases it from a Navaho. 

While living in New Mexico during the years 1880-84, in daily contact with 
members of the Navaho tribe, I made a careful study of the Navaho art of weaving 
and wrote a treatise on the subject which appeared in the Third Annual Rtf>ort of 
the Bureau of Ethnology (Washington, 1885). I" that article I described all the 
important forms of Navaho blankets I had ever seen ; but I had not seen a two-faced 
blanket, and, up to the date of writing, had not even heard of it; there is, therefore, 
no allusion to it in my treatise. I was absent from New Mexico, except during two 
short visits, for six years. Sometime after I returned to it, in 1890, for another sojourn 
of four years, I saw, for the first time, one of those two-faced blankets. Thus I may 
safely say that after I left New Mexico, in 1884, the process of making this blanket 
was invented by a Navaho Indian, and probably, though not necessarily, by a Navaho 
woman. 

During my second sojourn in New Mexico I tried to find a woman who wove 
this peculiar blanket in order that I might induce her by liberal pecuniary promises, 
as I had done on previous occasions with other weavers of special fabrics, to come to 
my residence and work under my observation ; but I never succeeded. I was told that 
the blankets were made in a distant part of the Navaho country ; my informants knew 
not where. If there were more than one maker, I never learned; but from what I 
know of the Navahos I think it probable that the inventor has made no secret of the 
process and that now, at least, there are many weavers of the two-faced blankets. 

Someone may question if this art did not exist during my first sojourn in the 
Navaho country previous to 1884, and if I might not have failed to observe it. This 
is by no means probable. Everj'one in the Navaho country then believed that the 
distinguishing feature of the Indian blanket was that, no matter how richly figured, its 
two surfaces were always exactly alike in all respects. Mr. Thomas V. Keam, of 
Keam's Canyon, Arizona, is the Indian trader who has been longest established among 
the Navahos, and is their most popular trader ; he has dealt and dwelt with them, I 
think, for about thirty years, and he is an educated, intelligent, and observant man. 
Had such blankets been even occasionally seen among these Indians prior to 1884, 
some of them would have been brought to him to trade and he would not have failed 
to observe their unusual appearance. In 1896 I wrote requesting Mr. Keam to 
get for me a two-faced blanket from his part of the country and asking him what he 
knew of the origin of the new blanket. In his reply, dated January 27, 1897. he says: 

"As you suppose, it is only about three years since I first saw this work, and 
to date there are only a few who understand this weaving. The diamond or diagonal 
twill is undoubtedly copied by them from the Hopi, but the double or reversible 
weaving I believe to be of their own [Navaho] invention, as I know of no other tribe 
that does such weaving." 



114 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Thus we see that it was not until about the year 1893 that the oldest trader in 
the Navaho land saw a two-faced blanket. 

As I have said, the Navaho loom is a machine, and a rather elaborate machine, 
too. The step from a tool to a machine marks a wide advance in human evolution. 
I have described accurately, m the paper already quoted, the mechanism of the 
Navaho loom (as it existed in the last decade, at least) and have analyzed its com- 
ponent elements, which are essentially those of our own household loom. There is 
no doubt that the ordinary Navaho loom is an aboriginal invention which has not 
been modified since pre-Columbian days. In the weaving of belts, hair-bands, and 
garters, the Zuni women employ a harness or heald which seems to be derived from the 
Old World ; but the Navaho heald is a rude, aboriginal device. 

I cannot say what particular modification has been made in the loom (or 
perhaps I would better say in the application or management of the loom) to produce 
the new style of web, but it would greatly interest me to know. I trust that some 
of the many scientific explorers who have recently taken to visiting the Navaho land 
may find time to determine this and to describe it in technical terms. If the step from 
a tool to a machine is long, so is the step from one form or application of a machine 
to another which can produce such unusual results as we see in the specimen here 
illustrated. 

Another thing worthy of notice in this blanket is that we have here a diagonal 
cloth. There is considerable difference between the Navaho loom which produces this 
web and the machine which produces a plain surface. The difference is shown in the 
essay to which I have referred. As one might suppose, the loom that produces the 
twilled or diagonal surface is the more elaborate, and its manipulation requires the 
greater skill and care. This specimen shows that it is the more elaborate loom which 
the inventor has seen fit to modify for the new form. 

But the specimen is not only a blanket partly woven (Fig. 138) ; it is a loom, 
and a nearly complete loom, lacking only two movable parts (reed-fork and batten) 
which are common to all looms. Where is the secret, then? Why may not I, by 
merely examining the loom, tell how the change is made? I answer that I cannot do 
so without seeing the mechanism in operation. I might invent a plausible explanation 
and deliver it with an air of certainty which would impress you as the truth and 
yet be far astray. I should have to see the weaver at work, and even then might find 
it difficult to analyze the process. This I know from experience. There are writers 
who can reconstruct looms and processes by merely examining the webs or the impres- 
sion left by these webs on plastic clay ; but, unfortunately, this is beyond my ability. 

I know of no fabric made by civilized man that is quite like this. I have asked 
experts in the dry-goods line if they knew of any and have been told that they did 
not. The modern golf-cloth, which is perfectly plain on one side and figured on the 
other, is somewhat similar in character, but not quite. I have no doubt that, were 
such an end desired, the American inventor would have little difficulty in producing a 
loom that would weave a two-faced fabric; but so far he has not done so. I merely 
mention these facts to show that the Navaho inventor has received no suggestion from 
either an European fabric or a civilized artisan. 

There are baskets made by certain Indians of the Pacific Coast In which the 
figures woven on the outside are quite different from those woven directly behind them 
on the inside. They are two-faced fabrics, but the work is done altogether by hand 
and so offers little comparison with the Navaho blanket-work which is done by 
machinery. I have never seen any of these two-faced baskets among the Navahos, 




Elle, of Ganado. Ariz., One of the Best of Living Weavers. 




Tuli, the Child Weaver. 




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A NAVAHO WEAVER AT WORK 115 

and am certain they do not know how to make them; but I cannot deny that they 
may have seen them and have obtained at least an art suggestion from them. 

During my many years of association with the Navaho I have been 
able to buy a few of these double-faced blankets, but have never seen the 
weaver of them at work, hence can add nothing to Dr. Matthews's 
description. 

While, as a rule, among the Navahos, modern blankets are woven 
by women, there have always been men who have engaged in the art, 
and in describing some of the blankets herein pictured it will be observed 
that the masculine pronoun has been used, designating a man weaver. Dr. 
Matthews used to assert in his day that the best weaver on the reservation 
was a man, but it would be a rash statement to make today in the light of 
the excellent specimens constantly coming from the expert fingers of 
women. As some of the designs herein show, they are works of genius, 
which two or more generations of careful fostering have called into being. 
It is a remarkable fact that while the Navahos have a wonderful 
variety of chants or songs which they sing in their ceremonies, the Navaho 
women seldom, if ever, sing at their work. In this regard they are dif- 
ferent from their sisters of the Pueblo race. These Indians have many 
songs which they sing while grinding the flour at the nictate, when attend- 
ing their flocks, or out in the cornfield. But the Navaho women do not 
sing, except ceremonially, and there is little in the high-pitched, almost 
screeching, forced, and strenuously vociferous singing of the dances, to 
lead one to attempt it while engaged in the thoughtful, quiet, and sedentary 
occupation of weaving. 

Yet it should not be thought from this that the songless Navaho 
woman is sad and forlorn. On the contrary, I know of no race of women 
in the world that are so physically self-reliant, so vigorous, strong, robust, 
and able as they; and mentally within their scope they are equally alert. 
And though they do not talk much (especially in the presence of white 
strangers) they are by no means a subdued, timid, and " put-upon " sex. 
They are self-assertive in a high degree and are given a much higher 
place in the social economy than most women. When they marry they 
retain their own property, and all children born belong to the mother. 
A woman can divorce a man as well and as easily as a man a woman, 
and while there is always a gift of ten or twelve horses from the bride- 
groom or his family to the parents of the bride, this is, as Berard says, 
not "the price paid for the girl, but a gift sanctioned by tradition, as the 
Navaho do not sell their children." 

It should be noted, too, that the women are often the owners of the 
flocks of sheep, and in such case that the husband will not dare to sell even 
a single animal without the consent of his wife. And when the blanket is 



ii6 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

woven it is the wife, as a rule, who sells it and receives the money or goods 
that she barters in exchange for it. 

One of the most peculiar taboos known is that of a Navaho man 
against sight of his mother-in-law. After the marriage ceremony he must 
never see her, officially. It is regarded as bad taste for a man to show 
any familiarity to the mother of the maiden he wishes to marry, possibly 
to prevent any feeling of jealousy between mother and daughter, and this 
may be the explanation of the taboo. The mother, after marriage, 
becomes do-zo-iiii — "she who may not be seen." On several occasions 
I have done my utmost, played every kind of a trick imaginable, and exer- 
cised my inventive faculties to the utmost to bring mother-in-law and son- 
in-law together, but always in vain. 

This undoubtedly is a good taboo. While it does not prevent a 
mother from visiting her married daughter, the fact that the visit is made 
in the husband's absence conduces to domestic peace, in that her sugges- 
tions for the conducting of her daughter's household are not made in the 
husband's presence and cannot, therefore, be construed into criticisms 
of him or his methods. 

It should not be implied from the existence of this taboo that there 
is any personal aversion existing on the part of the husband against his 
mother-in-law. He may have been the best of friends with her, and 
still entertain the same kind of feeling. It is merely a fixed Navaho 
custom to which he must adhere whether he likes it or not, as evil is bound 
to come to him and his family If he dares to violate so long established 
a taboo. 

General U. S. Hollister thinks that, 

as the Navaho is polygamous, it is possible that this singular custom originated in a 
theory of protection for the husband. A man with half a dozen wives would have as 
many mothers-in-law, and. according to beliefs prevalent among white people, would 
also have a pretty hard time if all of them exercised influence over his household. 
Therefore, such a custom may be a very grave necessity in Navaho land. 

The Navahos have special names for all the different kinds of 
blankets and Berard thus classifies them: 

One of the very earliest and commonest forms was the nakhai bkliidi, which, as 
its name implies, is the Mexican rug or pelt. This style was a pattern borrowed from 
the Mexicans. The center was woven in a belt of blue, flanked by narrow strips of 
black, the remainder of the blanket alternating in belts of white, black, and blue, 
interspersed at optional intervals. The design was a very plain one and made for 
the Mexican trade. 

This type of blanket, even by experts, will generally be called an 
"old Chimayo," for it is the same style of blanket made up to twenty- 




m 



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bfl. 

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A NAVAHO WEAVER AT WORK 117 

five years ago by the Chimayo and other Mexican weavers of New and 
Old Mexico. I have several old specimens of the Chimayo weave which 
were purchased from their weavers, and one of them is pictured in Fig. 
249. I also possess, however, a Navaho blanket of almost similar type, 
and though I have shown it to several experts not one has recognized it as 
a Navaho, but all alike have denominated it Chimayo. Personally I can 
see no difference, and had I not purchased this latter blanket from an old 
Navaho, who herself wove it, I should have deemed it a Chimayo. (See 
p. 169.) 

Nago nodozi, horizontally striped, a blanket woven in alternating stripes of black 
and white, with an occasional narrow strip of red added in the center, and the end 
belts of black. Red tassels decorated each corner. 

A similar blanket, and one much in demand by the Utes, was known as alni 
naijini, or the blanket with the black (streak) belt in center. While the body of the 
blanket was laced with strips of white and black, the center was mounted with a wide 
black belt, with additional red and blue strips woven in between. Similar belts were 
woven in equi-distant intervals between the center belt and the ends, though they were 
narrower than the center belt. The corners were decorated with black tassels, making 
a very attractive blanket. 

The hanohhade, or carded blanket, which is now designated as the chitf's 
blanket, is probably the chief of blankets, though it can hardly be said to have been 
worn by the chiefs exclusively. Here, too, the idea of alternating stripes of black 
and white is retained in the body of the blanket, though as a distinctive feature 
three zigzag diamonds made of small cubes of blue, red, and black yarn are set in 
the center of a wide belt of black. The interior of each diamond is a perfect white 
surmounted by a red cross in the center. The top and bottom of the blanket is 
finished in similar half diamonds. — [Berard.] 

When this type is found in the old baycta or native-wool, native-dyed 
blankets they are regarded as almost priceless by collectors. V'\g. 7 is 
a good representation of one of these blankets in the Fred Harvey collec- 
tion. Some twenty-five years ago I purchased a modern blanket of this 
type from one of John Lorenzo Hubbell's weavers at Ganado. It has been 
in continuous use since that time, mainly on the floor of Dr. W. L. Jud- 
son's art studio at Garvanza (Art Department of the University of South- 
ern California, Los Angeles), and is a far more desirable blanket today 
than when it was first purchased. It has toned down somewhat and taken 
on some of the dignity of age, and while there can be no danger of mis- 
taking it for a bayeta it is so good a blanket, so well dyed and woven, 
that its value will be enhanced as the years go by. Mr. Hubbcll still has 
several of his most expert and careful weavers who prefer to weave noth- 
ing but this kind of blanket, and he keeps them busy all the time, as there 
is always a larger demand for this type (when well woven) than can be 



ii8 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

supplied. Fred Harvey also has several of his best weavers at work on 
this especial type. 

Bil, woman's dress, was origlnall}' woven in black and blue. The black color, 
which is a fast jet black, was made from a mixture of sumac, pitch, and native ochre, 
called tsekho je it, while the blue was indigo, bediltUsh, obtained from the Mexicans. 
The top and bottom of the blanket alternated in four lines of blue and three of 
black, with the body of the blanket, or its center, alni, a plain jet black. The whole 
was bordered, banat'i, and tasseled, bijanil, in blue. 

With the introduction of bayeta, red was substituted for the blue in the body 
of the blanket, though the blue border and tassels were retained {dotlish bequaolo, 
the weave runs out in blue). The solid black center, too, was retained, and gradually 
various designs of red and blue were woven with the black, lizliin bildcstlo, at each 
side of the center belt. — [Berard.] 

Specimens of this earlier type of woman's dress are very scarce. Only 
a few are to be found in the museums. The only one I was ever able to 
secure from the Navahos was one that was made and worn for years by 
the wife of the great warrior chief Manuelito (see Fig. 139). As it was 
the last of its kind, and was very worn and much repaired, she had care- 
fully washed it and put it away amongst her treasures, from whence she 
drew it forth to show to me. When I expressed my desire to purchase 
it she refused to let me have it, on account of its dilapidated condition. 
But as later we became good friends she finally insisted upon my taking it 
as a gift. 

During an Indian fiesta held in Los Angeles I loaned this rare dress, 
with a score or more of other of my blanket treasures, and when I came 
to make up an accounting of the "returns" this was missing, and I have 
never since been able to trace it, to my extreme regret. 

Of the later type, showing the bayeta, I have a number of fine speci- 
mens. The older types' are almost worth their weight in gold. Fig. 10 
shows one of the earlier ones in the Hubbell collection. They are now 
neither woven nor worn and one may wander over the reservation for a 
year and not find one in any condition. Hence those that are now in 
collections are highly treasured. 

Ba doilizhi, or bil baba dotlizhi, blue borders. This was a woman's shawl, and 
owes its name to the two borders of blue which flanked the center of black. While 
the bil, or woman's dress, was of two pieces, which were sewed at the top and sides, 
leaving an opening for the head and arms only, the shawls were made in a single 
pattern and used after the manner of a shawl or wrap, much as the men use the 
blanket. 

Bil lagai, white shawl, was so called from the alternating white and red color 
which was woven horizontally in narrow strips throughout. The border and tas- 
sels were blue. It was the only woman's garment in which white was used, and 
therefore was appropriately designated. The woman's dress and the shawls are not 
used today. — [Berard.] 




Ft(„ 146. 
Navaho Blanket of Symbolic Design. 

( Aiitli'-r's tullfiliMii.) 



[Page 124] 



A NAVAHO WEAVER AT WORK 119 

These were undoubtedly suggested by the white cotton shawls or 
garments of the Hopi women, as pictured elsewhere. There are none of 
these made by the Navahos today, tliough the Hopis still make tliem of 
cotton, finely embroidering them. 

Baghaitloni, slit-weave. No special design seems to have been assigned to this 
blanket, but any blanket might be woven so as to leave a slit about four fingers wide 
in the center of the blanket, which was afterwards laced with blue yarn. It is gen- 
erally stated that this weave had to be occasionally resorted to in order to avoid over- 
doing weaving. Yet it has also been advanced that this blanket was worn by the 
men just as the women used the hil, or woman's dress, and that to avoid ridicule, 
the above version of overdoing the weaving has been attached to the " slit-weave." 
But this seems rather far-fetched. — [Berard.] 

Another shirt which, like the preceding, was originally borrowed 
from the Pueblo, was still In vogue not so very many years ago. It was 
woven of wool yarn in the shape of a woman's dress, but provided with a 
longitudinal slit in the center for the purpose of passing It over the head. 
Fig. 140. It was entirely black In color and the only decoration was a 
tassel in each corner. When too filthy It would be washed and redyed, 
and from its varied use In wearing It either side out, or turning the front 
to rear at will. It was called ae nahotaU, or hil lizliiii ae nahotaVi, "the 
black dress shirt which may be worn either side up." As the surface of 
the shirt was very rough, ditsid, which It was Impossible to obviate even 
by a loose weave, llzhoUgo istlo, a fur collar made o,f wildcat skin, noshdin 
hakhagl, was added and tied with buckskin thongs. The front sides of 
the shirt were folded Inwardly and overlapped by the rear, in which 
fashion it was held close to the body by means of a cord tied around the 
waist. Despite this precaution the wind had free access to It, wherefore 
the more humorous dubbed It ae akidanalki, or "the shirt which flaps in 
the wind." It was worn In addition to and over the ordinary wool or 
calico shirt, and some did not despise to store It away, uidaslstsos, for 
festive occasions. At present It has disappeared entirely. 



CHAPTER XIV 

The Designs on Modern N avail o Blankets 

TN CHAPTER XII the studious reader will find sufficient material for 
■■■ thought as to the origin and symbolism of designs in those days of the 
art when creative impulses were strong, men and women were contented 
with simple, natural, and beautiful things, and the feverish desire for the 
mere accumulation of wealth had not demoralized the simpler primitive 
instincts. 

But in speaking of the designs woven into the modern products of 
the Navahos' loom we are upon different ground. In the main we can 
agree with Father Berard when he says: 

As for designs in modern blankets which by some are interpreted as replete with 
religious symbolism, such interpretations merely attach an undue idealism and impor- 
tance to the design which it does not contain. A glance at the names for some of 
the designs will bear out this point and show that these names designate figures 
found on paper, cloth or anything else. Then, too, it will be remembered that Navaho 
women are devout and faithful clients of their religion, possibly more so than the men, 
and would scarcely trifle with religious symbols, many of which may be viewed in 
effigy in the course of certain rites, and at certain seasons of the year only. This 
conservatism is presumably responsible for the taboo placed upon the following and 
similar designs: thunder, zigzag lightning, the water, ox, the water horse, a horned 
monster, a monster eagle, a monster fish, a tortoise, the turtle, the coyote, the dog, 
the frog, the horned toad, the bull or blow snake, the track snake and snakes in 
general, in a word, anything harmful. 

On the other hand, designs of the rainbow, big stars, sheet lightning, the arrow, 
evening twilight, celestial blue, darkness, or of the sacred mountains, or anything of 
r" beneficial character, may be designed with impunity. 

It cannot be too often affirmed or too clearly understood that, while 
the exigencies of modern commercialism have led to the making of blankets 
of special designs to order, the natural impulse of the Navaho weaver is 
never to copy and never to repeat herself in her designs. The result is a 
wealth of designs, a bewilderment of figures, and combinations of figures 
that, could they be all massed together in.one great exhibit, would be 
regarded as one of the wonders of the world. Hence, had I photographed 
a thousand blankets for reproduction in the pages of this book, they would 
have served but as suggestions to many other thousands that might, with 
equal reason and acceptability, have been chosen for that purpose. 

I20 



DESIGNS ON MODERN NAVAHO BLANKETS 121 

Unless she intends to weave a design from one of the traders' dia- 
grams, the Navaho woman begins her work without any outward repre- 
sentation, either upon paper, buckskin, or in the sand, of what she intends 
to produce. The plan may be carefully mapped out in her own busy 
brain — main figures, their sizes, with all the connecting details. But, as 
I shall show later, this is not always the case. 

It will be noted by the careful observer that there are no circles, 
arches, or round corners in Navaho weaving. The reason for this may 
be traced to the development of the art from basketry, where the splints 
are less flexible and pliable and all the corners must be sharp-pointed, 
and the lines straight, oblique, zigzag, serrated, etc. 

There are practically no set or tribal designs — that is, blankets 
that are all woven alike. The figures, mainly geometrical, are common 
to all, but the method of their introduction into individual blankets is the 
concern of the weaver alone, unless she be weaving a chosen design at the 
request of the trader. 

There are many weavers, however, that no amount of pressure or 
persuasion can induce to weave any other than a blanket of her own 
designing, and some of these will never duplicate a design. Mr. Hubbell 
has several such weavers, and so has Fred Harvey. These are women of 
remarkable ability; the geniuses of their tribe, who rank as artists of the 
first class. Such an one is Elle, of Ganado, who has been steadily engaged 
at weaving by Fred Harvey for over a dozen years. Scores of thousands 
have seen her, seated at the loom, in the Fred Harvey Indian rooms at 
Albuquerque, New Mexico, at various fairs, and in the Land Shows and 
other exhibits at Chicago, etc. (See Fig. 141.) Her little daughter, when 
but five years old, began to weave, and now, though still a mere child, 
executes the most striking designs of her own creation. Here is one of the 
wonderful evidences of inheritance of creative ability and artistic skill. 
Before she could possibly know anything of her remarkable power, she was 
an artist in her own right. Another child, Tull, and her partially woven 
blanket are represented In Fig. 142. This is another child wonder in the 
weaving world, found by Fred Harvey, and now regularly engaged at his 
blanket rooms at Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Of this same type of weaver Is Bileen Alpi Bizhaahd, discovered 
by Mr. J. B. Moore, of Crystal, New Mexico, and now In the regular 
employ of his successors, the J. A. Molohon Company. She has never 
been known to copy the design of another weaver, and though often 
delighted beyond measure at the charm and beauty of some design she has 
just made, she positively refuses to weave a second blanket from the same 
pattern. Hence, if it is to be duplicated, some other weaver must be found 
who is more complaisant. Such Idiosyncrasies as this reveal that the 



122 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

"artistic temperament" is to be found among the aborigines as well as in 
the most "advanced" civilization. 

There is a great deal of human nature displayed in the diversity of 
designs found in Navaho blanliets, and also in their similarities. Human 
nature, as is tritely said, is very much the same whether found in civilized, 
uncivilized, black, white, bond, free, or in dogs. In the conventional, 
ordinary, commonplace designs one finds the timid, the conservative, the 
satisfied, the mentally contented, the orthodox. Why change these pat- 
terns? They have been good enough in the past; why try to alter or 
improve them? 

But there are those who are not satisfied. Their minds are mentally 
alert for the new, the original. They seek new paths. They disregard 
the conventional bounds. Life is life, and life is to be known only In the 
living, and every avenue that opens is a new avenue of experience, knowl- 
edge, and possible improvement. So the iconoclastic designer makes 
"something different." She prefers living figures to geometric designs; 
she even dares to reproduce the Yei of the sacred sand-paintings, as I 
shall show in a chapter devoted to that feature of the art; and of late 
years there have developed the unbelieving, the irreligious, the scoffer, the 
atheist, who have dared to violate the taboos and picture everything their 
vagrant fancy dictates. 

Occasionally a weaver thinks out a design and proceeds to incor- 
porate it into a woven blanket. When completed it Is so different from 
what she expected, or conveys to her mind some strange or peculiar im- 
pression, or arouses some superstitious fear, that she either destroys it or 
gets rid of it as speedily as possible. Of this character is the zigzag- 
design blanket shown in Fig. 143. This was given, many years ago, to 
Mr. Hamilton Noel, whose trading post is at Tecs-uas-paz, or, as it is 
sometimes spelt, Teas-nos-pos, Arizona, which is Navaho for " the circle 
of cottonwoods." This blanket was woven by a man, and while it was 
still on the loom, after he had completed it, there came a day when the 
heavens were clouded and a severe lightning and thunder-storm arose. 
Suddenly the sun shone through the clouds and lit up the blanket in such 
a fashion that the zigzag design of the lightning seemed actually to live. 
This so scared the superstitious weaver that he brought it to Mr. Noel, 
with the request that he take and hide it, or much evil might come to them 
both. The trader gladly accepted the responsibility and always managed 
to secrete the dangerous blanket when its weaver came around, but when 
I desired to purchase it I found that no offer I was able to make could 
shake, in the slightest, Mr. Noel's determination not to part with it. The 
remarkable thing is that, even to the non-superstitious, there is a peculiar 
flash of the pattern, v.hen It is seen under certain conditions of light and 



DESIGNS ON MODERN NAVAHO BLANKETS 123 

shade that give one an uncomfortable sensation. The reproduction fails 
to give any suggestion of this, as the color is lacking. The colors are red, 
green, and white. Apparently there are two zigzags of white running 
through the center, from top to bottom, but in reality there is a break in 
the white, and green is substituted. But at these substituted points the 
white is introduced on the sides, and thus, mayhap, the peculiar effect may 
be accounted for, in that the white, representing the more brilliant light- 
ning, darts to right and left here, and is then caught lower down and 
brought back into line with the point from which it started. Anyhow, the 
effect is peculiar and most startling. 

This zigzag design is by no means uncommon. Indeed, it is the 
motif of many thousands of blankets, some simple as in Figs. 144 and 
145, and in others, like Fig. 195, in which the zigzags are converted into 
diamonds. 

Figs. 144 and 145 are the blankets referred to on page 108 as 
demonstrating the individuality of the weaver's method, in that the weft 
threads are not taken directly across the face of the warp, but obliquely 
to conform to the slope of the design. In Fig. 144 this is done in a 
fairly successful fashion, interfering only a little with the general "square- 
ness" of the blanket, but in Fig. 145 the difficulty of mastering this 
"oblique stitch" is apparent, for it clearly got beyond the control of the 
weaver, so that the blanket is much wider at one end than the other. 

One of the most imaginative weavers of the tribe lives near Canyon 
Gallegos, New Mexico. She is especially inventive in her designs. Were 
this woman of a civilized race she would become another Rosa Bonheur, 
for her love of animals is such that she constantly depicts them in her 
blankets, and always with considerable artistic skill. Her work is eagerly 
sought for, and no sooner is one of her blankets on the loom than, 
regardless of what the pattern is to be, there are several purchasers ready 
to buy it when completed. 

With some weavers, even as with some authors of "best-sellers," 
this promptness of sale, or eagerness of purchasers, leads to a deteriora- 
tion of the work, but with this weaver it seems to have had the opposite 
and beneficially stimulating effect. The more her blankets are desired 
the more desirable she determines to make them. In other words, she is 
a true artist and finds great delight in her weaving. The result is her 
latest blankets are her best. She never begins to weave until a design 
has taken full possession of her and demands outward expression, and 
then she sets up her loom and goes to work with an almost feverish eager- 
ness, as anxious to see in objective form what her brain has conceived as 
is a mother to see her new-born child. 

One of her blankets is that pictured in Fig. 200 and described in 



124 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Chapter xvii, but, unfortunately, I am unable to show any of her "animal 
designs," for the blankets were sold to strangers, and no photographs were 
made of them. 

That weavers are influenced in their choice of design by their environ- 
ment I have illustrated a score or more of times, but never more force- 
fully than by the weaver from whom I purchased the fantastic blanket 
pictured in colors in Fig. 146. 

This weaver's summer hogan was not far from a siding on the main 
line of the Santa Fe Railway, some fifty miles west of Gallup, New Mex- 
ico, over the state line in Arizona. She was a skilful weaver, and I had 
bought several of her blankets at different times, all of them containing 
the usual type of design. On this occasion, however, she brought forth 
something of a different character. I was interested enough to seek to 
penetrate fully into the mystery of the change, and as I stayed at the hogan 
for several days, and she and her husband were most friendly and chatty, 
I succeeded in gathering the following, which, pieced together, is the story 
of how she came to depart so far from the usual. 

One day after she had set up her loom, and while she was thinking 
over several designs that had suggested themselves, she was aroused from 
her thought by the arrival of a train going west. That immediately sug- 
gested to her that she attempt to reproduce the engine and train of cars 
in her blanket. The sun was glistening on the rails, and this effect she 
reproduced by alternations of white and blue. The wheels are diamond- 
shaped lozenges, while the cow-catcher, headlight and tender, the cab 
with its two windows, the smokestack belching smoke, and the steam-chest 
with its escaping white steam are all well represented. The train was of 
passenger coaches, and there was room on her loom for only two cars, 
and these of rather compressed dimensions. To denote that they were 
passenger cars she introduced two human figures in each. While this 
work was progressing certain birds appeared on the scene, together with 
two women, one walking east and one west. A "light" engine also came 
traveling east, and as the sun happened to be shining upon it as it passed 
it had a bright, glistening appearance, so she represented it by weaving it 
in white, while the windows of the cab are picked out in dark blue. A 
large and small rain-cloud also appeared on the horizon and these are 
duly represented. 

Having thus begun with the railway, she determined to continue, and 
when she was ready for the next portion of the design a cattle-train came 
along, which she duly incorporated in the next horizontal panel. Her 
cattle are of a species known only to the " rarebit fiend." They are of a 
wilder type than even Gelett Burgess's "purple cow." After getting 
ready for the next panel and no train appearing, she pictured six flying 



DESIGNS ON MODERN NAVAHO BLANKETS 125 

birds alighting on the track and five walking female figures. A rain- 
cloud is at each end of the group of walkers. This panel is followed 
by one showing two engines together, going west, with flying birds and 
rain-clouds above them. 

The next panel shows a sleeping-car, and the weaver's curiosity 
having been aroused since her endeavor to picture these strange objects 
of the white man's travel, she had mustered up courage enough to go to 
Gallup and ask to be allowed to enter a sleeping-car after the berths were 
made up in order that she might understand how men and women could 
sleep on a railroad train. After this personal observation she was able to 
produce the double-deck effect of the upper and lower berths, though she 
laughed heartily when I pointed out that people lie down when they sleep, 
even though it be in a railroad berth. This she had not got clearly through 
her mind, for to sleep in such a confined space as that tiny berth seemed 
to her almost impossible, hence she had represented, to the best of her 
ability, these strange white people sitting up in the tiny cubby-holes where 
a malign fate compelled them to remain over night while they were hurled 
across the great, free, open land. Pointing to the two cars abo\'e I 
asked why she had placed these above the sleeping-car. Her reply was to 
the effect that it was not enough to have only one car, but that when she 
began to put on the other cars it was day-time and the people were not 
sleeping, hence she had to represent them as up and moving about. 

The result of her personal observation is also manifested in the 
representation of the side doors and ventilators in the car — things she 
had not known before, having observed the cars only from a distance. 
The remainder of this panel is made up of fleecy clouds, flying birds, and 
rain clouds, while the last panel is her very effective representation of a 
poultry train going west. 

In his oflice at Ganado, Arizona, John Lorenzo Hubbell has scores 
of blanket designs, painted in oil, hung upon the walls, and they pre- 
sent a most surprising and wonderful combination. These are designs 
that have been found to be pleasing to purchasers, and when a special 
order for a blanket of a certain design comes in, the weaver is shown 
the picture of the one desired. She studies it a while, takes the wool 
provided, or herself prepares it, and then, with such slight variations as 
she is sure to introduce, goes ahead and makes her blanket. 

In blanketry, as well as in basketry, there are fantastic and degraded 
designs, which clearly denote mental vacuity on the part of the weaver, 
or a vain and foolish desire to copy something, or to do what the trader 
desires, regardless of its appearance. Foolish lettering, imitations of the 
American eagle, and subjects entirely foreign to the native weaver's nat- 
ural tastes are found. The intelligent purchaser and the collector will 



126 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

alike frown upon these specimens of degradation of the art, and do all 
that can be done to discourage their perpetuation. 

The following is the list of the principal designs, with the Navaho 
names, given by Berard: 




♦ 
♦ 

+ 

X 



Fig. 147 — Dak ha nahalin (card-like), a square. 



Fig. 148 — Becditli nahalin (slingshot-like), a diamond, also called 
so tso, big star. 



Fig. 149 — BeeditUhi (slingshot), an elongated diamond. 



Fig. 150 — Tsin alnaozid (sticks crossing each other), Roman cross. 



Fig. 151 — So (star), St. Andrew's cross. 




^ 



Fig. 152 — Tqago deza (three points), a triangle. 



Fig. 153 — So deshzha (pointed star), four lines crossed so as to form a 
figure with eight points, or a St. Andrew's cross drawn 
through a Roman cross. If made somewhat larger than 
ordinarily, it is alsQ called so tso deshzha, big pointy star. 




^ 



Fig. 154 — Tsiyrl nahalin (like a queue), two triangles touching each 
other with their apices. 



Fig. 155 — Tqago deza he digo desa (four points with three points), 
four triangles touching with apices, a Maltese cross. 



DESIGNS ON MODERN NAVAHO BLANKETS 127 



Fig. 156 — Nahokhos. said of large, long objects in horizontal rotation, I 
a swastica cross. 



N 



Fig. 157 — Dakba nalialingo nahokhos binisaa (a nahokhos within a 
card-like figure), a swastica surrounded by a square. 



Fig. 158 — Dakha nahalinigi bealqiaza (card-like figures within each 
other), square inside of another square. 



Fig. 159 — Beedltli nahalinigi bealqiaza (slingshot-like figures within 
each other), diamond within diamond. 



Fig. 160 — Noltlizh, a zigzag line. 



Fig. 161 — Be'ndastlago noltlizh (cornered zigzag), 
irregular zigzag. 

Fig. 162 — Danaazkhago noltlizh (a row of empty 
places in zigzag order), a line resem- 
bling the crown of a battlement. 

Fig. 163 — Yistlin (freckled), small dots. 



^ 





Fig. 164 — Dokhish (spotted), dots larger than" 
the vistlin. 



Fig. 165 — Dadestso, spots somewhat longer than ^^ ^» ^— ^ ^" ^« 

dokhish. 

Fig. 166 — BeeditU baba dolaghas (slingshot with serrated edge), dia- <[" "^ 
mond with serrated edge. ^^ 



Fig. 167 — Dolaghas, a serrated line; bcsdolaghas 
(ancient knife of chipped flint). 



Fig. 168 — Kos yishchin (cloud image), a terraced 
figure on side of blanket. 




128 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



o 



Fig. 169 — Hokha (a large empty place or receptacle), a 
large terrace-edged diamond, usually in 
the center of a blanket. 



00 



Fig. 170 — Hokha bcalkheaznil, two hokha following 
each other. 




Fig. 171 — Honakha, a hokha with a half hokha on 
either end. 




Fig. 172 — Noltlizh alniaznil, a figure with zigzag edge 
in the center. 






Fig. 173 — Dolaghas bcalkheaznil, two figures with ser- 
rated edges following each other. 



Fig. 174- 



■Alkhe ndazha (pointed ones following each 
other), a row of small figures with points, 
for instance V-shaped figures not too near 
together. 



»»»»» 



Fig. 175 — Anikhe (tracks), a double row of alkhe 
ndazha. 



UUIklUI||||L 

nmrnrmm 



Fig. 176 — Aqidclnago ndazha (sticking in opposite di- 
rection), same as anikhe only that the 
figures of one row are reversed. 



F'g- 177 — Alkidot'ezh (touching each other), a row of 
small figures, one touching the other, for 
instance a row of small flat-based triangles, 
set on edge, so that the apex of the one 
touches the preceding one at the center 
of the base. 



DESIGNS ON MODERN NAVAHO BLANKETS 



Fig. 178 — Alkheyit'ezh (following and touch- 
ing each other), a row of small 
figures connected by short lines. 

Fig. 179 — Alkheyit'ezh dakha nahaUngo, a 
row of small squares connected 
b}' lines between them. 



129 



Fig. 180 — Dilzha, 
tions, 
border. 



battlement-like eleva- 
especially along the 



Fig. 181 — If another color is woven next to 
delzha, and the intervening 
spaces are left a distinct color, 
they are called irtil, enclosed, 
encased. 

Fig. 182 — Alqihadot'ezh (touching, following 
within each other), said of a 
succession of small figures, 
usually along the border, of 
such a form that the space be- 
tween them is a reverted repro- 
duction of same. 




r?r?r7f?T? p 



Fig. 183 — So aqadenil (two stars together), two large 
diamonds in center of blanket. 




Fig. 184 — Hoshdudi, the name of the whip-poor-will, 
strewn with spots. 



Fig. 185 — Alni azi (standing in the middle), said of 
any central figure of extraordinary shape. 



$ 



Fig. 186 — Aqidinlnago da- 
na'azkha (spaces 
opposite), a suc- 
cession of small figures whose intervening 
spaces show the same figure inverted or 
opposite. 



"SLS'E.BIBSE 



Fig. 187 — Aqedzcba means a gray stripe or border all 
around. This is used with other colors: 
dzet/ai, \\ hite ; jichi, red ; dzctso, yellow ; 
jijin, black ; jidactlizh, blue. 




CHAPTER XV 

Navaho and Pueblo Belts, Garters, and Hair Bands 

A LL visitors to the Navaho reservation and to the homes of the various 
Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico, especially in early days 
(twenty or more years ago), were astonished and delighted at the beauti- 
fully designed and woven belts worn by the women around their waists, 
and the garters and head bands worn by the men. 

Dr. Washington Matthews thus describes the methods followed in 
weaving these: 

Their way of weaving long ribbon-like articles, such as sashes or belts, garters, 
and hair-bands, which we will next consider, presents many interesting variations 
from the method pursued in making blankets. To form a sash the weaver proceeds 
as follows: She drives into the ground four sticks and on them she winds her warp 
as a continuous string (however, as the warp usually consists of threads of three 




Fiu. l^s — iiiaf^raiii siiuwiny furmatii.ni of warp of sash 

difFerent colors, it is not always one continuous string), from below upwards in such a 
way as to secure two sheds, as shown in the diagram, Fig. 188. 

Every turn of the warp passes over the sticks a and b; but it is alternate turns 
that pass over c and d. When the warp is laid she ties a string around the inter- 
section of the sheds at e, so as to keep the sheds separate while she is mounting the 
warp on the beams. She then places the upper beam of the loom in the place of the 
stick b and the lower beam in the place of the stick a. Sometimes the upper and 
lower beams are secured to the two rails forming a frame such as the warp of a 
blanket is wound on, but more commonly the loom is arranged as follows: The 
upper beam is secured to a rafter, post or tree, while to the lower beam is attached 
a loop of rope that passes under the thighs of the weaver, and the warp is rendered 
tense b\ her weight. Next, the upper shed is supplied with a shed-rod and the lower 
shed with a set of healds. Then a stick is inserted at /; this is simply a round stick, 
about which one loop of each thread of the warp is thrown. (Although the warp 
may consist of only one thread, I must now speak of each turn as a separate thread.) 
Its use is to keep the different threads in place and prevent them from crossing and 
straggling; for it must be remembered that the warp in this case is not secured at 
two points between three stranded cords, as is the blanket warp. 

130 



BELTS, GARTERS, AND HAIR BANDS 131 

When this is all ready the insertion of the weft begins. The reed-fork is rarely 
needed and the batten used is mucii shorter than that employed in making blankets. 
Fig. 189 represents a section of a belt. It will be seen that the center is ornamented 
with peculiar raised figures; these are made by inserting a slender stick into the warp, 
so as to hold up certain of the threads while the weft is passed twice or oftener under- 
neath them. It is practically a variety of damask or two-ply weaving; the figures 
on the opposite side of the belt being different. There is a limited variety of these 
figures. I think I have seen about a dozen different kinds. The experienced weaver 
is so well acquainted with the "count" or arrangements of the raised threads appro- 
priate to each pattern that she goes on inserting and withdrawing the slender stick 
referred to without a moment's hesitation, making the web at the rate of ten or twelve 




Fig. 189 — Section of Navaho belt 

inches an hour. When the web has grown to the point at which she cannot weave 
it further without bringing the unfilled warp nearer to her, she is not obliged to 
resort to the clumsy method used with blankets. She merely seizes the anterior layer 
of the warp and pulls it down towards her ; for the warp is not attached to the beams, 
but is movable on them; in other words, while still on the loom the belt is endless. 
When all the warp has been filled except about one foot, the weaving is completed ; 
for then the unfilled warp is cut in the center and becomes the terminal fringes of the 
now finished belt. 

The only marked difference that I have observed between the mechanical 
appliances of the Navaho weaver and those of her Pueblo neighbor is to be seen in 
the belt loom. The Zuni woman lays out her warp, not as a continuous thread 
around two beams, but as several disunited threads. She attaches one end of these to 
a fixed object, usually a rafter in her dwelling, and the other to the belt she wears 
around her body. She has a set of wooden healds by which she actuates the alternate 
threads of the warp. Instead of using the slender stick of the Navahos to elevate the 
threads of the warp in forming her figures, she lifts these threads witn iicr fingers. 



132 



INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 



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II 


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Fig. 190 — Wooden heald of the Zunis 



This is an easy matter with her style of loom; but it would be a very difficult task 
with that of the Navahos. The wooden healds are shown in Fig. igo. The Zuni 

women weave all their long, narrow 
webs according to the same system; 
but Mr. Bandelier has informed me 
that the Indians of the Pueblo of 
Cochiti make the narrow garters and 
hair-bands after the manner of the 
Zunis, and the broad belts after the 
manner of the Navahos. 

It will be interesting to com- 
pare the photographs of Navaho 
weavers and Fig. igi. In the latter 
a girl of ancient Mexico is weaving 
a web of some description. The 
former are from photographs taken 
from life ; the other I have copied 
from Taylor's Anthropology (p. 
248) ; but it appears earlier in the copy of Codex Vaticana in Lord Kingsborough's 
Antiquities of Mexico. The way in which the warp is held down and made tense, by 
a rope or band secured to the lower beam and sat upon by the weaver, is the same in 
both cases. And it seems that the artist who drew the original rude sketch sought 
to represent the girl, not as working " the cross-thread of the woof in and out on a 
stick," but as manipulating the reed-fork with one hand and grasping the heald-rod 
and shed-rod in the other. 

Mr. A. M. Stephen, a careful observer, who lived in close contact 
with both Navaho and Hopis some forty years ago, thus wrote (in an 
unpublished manuscript) of Navaho belts, etc.: 

Aside from the products of the vertical loom, smaller fabrics are woven by dif- 
ferent methods, as in the making of the girdle. A woman prepares to make one of 
these by spinning the warp on her primitive spindle to the requisite fineness, not 
thicker than knitting cotton, and often as 
small as sewing thread. She then selects 
a level place and drives tv.o stout pegs in 
the ground, from four to six inches apart, 
and two others parallel to these, at a dis- 
tance of from eight to twelve feet, ac- 
cording to the width and length pro- 
posed for the girdle. Across the ends 
of each pair of pegs, which project not 
higher than a foot above the ground, a 
slender stick is fastened, and around these 
two sticks, the warp, of different colors, 

is wound in the desired order and tightly stretched. A common arrangement in a 
girdle, say seven fingers wide, is to wind threads of dark blue so as to form a border 
on each side of one finger-width ; next adjoining these, on the inside, another finger- 
width of light green, leaving three finger-widths between, which is then stretched 
with scarlet, and in the center, where the design is to be wrought, an additional 




Fig. 191 — Girl weaving (from an Aztec picture) 



BELTS, GARTERS, AND HAIR BANDS 133 

finger-width of black thread is stretched over the scarlet. A black weft, wound upon 
a short tv\ig, is then looped upon the outside warp-thread and carried across, above 
and below each alternate warp, then looped upon the outside thread on the opposite 
border. This is continued along the entire length of the girdle, and as the upper 
and under warp-threads are brought very compactly together, the weft is entirely 
concealed, and the process is really an inversion of ordinary weaving, the warp 
forming the surface instead of the weft. 

A favorite design in the center of the girdle is a zigzag band extending its whole 
length, with a conventional figure of a bird, with outspread wings within each angle; 
this is produced on the upper or obverse side, by passing the weft under two or more 
threads of scarlet at once, leaving a single black thread below; the design is thus 
thrown in scarlet relief with black interstices, upon the obverse or outside of the 
girdle as worn, and a fringe of the warp, about six inches long is left at each end. 
The women alone wear girdles, and only the men wear garters to support their buck- 
skin leggins. These garters are made by a method slightly modified from the above, 
but are, of course, much smaller, although woven with equal nicety, and are usually 
about two inches wide and four feet long. 

Cinches or saddle girths are also made in decorated patterns, but instead of being 
woven between pegs, the warp is passed directly between the large iron rings or 
buckles at each end. After the warp has been thus arranged, one of the rings is 
fastened to the branch of a tree, or other convenient support, and the weaver attaches 
the other ring to her waist girdle, seating herself on the ground in such a position as 
to give the required tension to the warp, and the process she follows is more of close, 
neat braiding than weaving. These cinches are from four to six inches wide, and 
from two feet to thirty inches long. 

Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, who thirty years ago spent many years on the 
reservation, thus describes and pictures the Navaho belt weaver at worlc. 
He says: 

Among the Navahos one will see a great many blankets made before an oppor- 
tunity will be presented for him to observe the labors of a belt-weaver. The reason 
for this is, that blankets are a universal necessity with them, while the belt is princi- 
pally used as a supplementarj' adornment in dress. As my time for leaving the coun- 
try drew near I almost despaired of getting a good photograph of the belt-weaver and 
the study of the loom she used. But a month before my departure an Indian cam.e 
into my study one morning, beaming all over with the welcome information that one 
of the best weavers in the tribe had started the making of a belt in front of one of 
their huts. These Indians were then building close to the confines of the garrison. 

The first day I studied her methods of procedure and the second day I succeeded 
in obtaining several excellent pictures of this weaver at work. My best result is 
here offered as an illustration, and it well shows the entire scene. The woman has 
rigged up her loom in front of her house; she is busily employed in htr weaving and 

her child sits beside her. (Fig. 192.) 

********* 

The weaver had constructed the subvertical, outside part of the frame of her 
loom of two trunks of small pine trees, averaging a little over three inches in diameter, 
and from which the bark had not been removed. Parallel to each other, and placed 
about a yard apart, these she had placed in a slanting position against the front of her 



134 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 




By courtesy of the National Museum, Smithsonlau Institution. 

Fig, 192 — The Navaho belt weaver at work 



BELTS, Gx\RTERS, AND HAIR BANDS 135 

house outside. The upper ends were strapped to the liouse, and the lower ends 
slightly planted in the earth, being held more secure there by a few stones. Next 
she had firmly tied on cross pieces, a double one a few inches from the top, and a sin- 
gle one at about a foot above the ground. Over these cross pieces the warp passes, 
and in such a manner as to produce a double shed only. Then a smooth short rod 
is made to take up the alternate threads of the warp above the intersection or in the 
upper shed. This is easily seen in the engraving. Helow the intersection of the 
threads of the warp the weaver serves the lower shed with a set of healds, which are 
usually composed of yarn, have their own rod, and as in the case of the rod above 
the intersection, include alternate threads of the warp. When drawn towards the 
weaver the healds serve the purpose of opening the lower shed, and still another short 
rod is used to keep the threads in place, which is also well seen in the figure, where 
the woman has her hands resting upon the batten, a smooth, flat, and rather narrow 
piece of hard wood. This Is the last and yet one of the most important adjuncts com- 
posing this primitive loom, and is used by the weaver in turning it horizontally to 
open the shed to admit the passage of the weft, and afterwards to pound the latter 
down firmly Into Its place as the weaving proceeds. 

These belt-looms as In use among the Navahos are not always exactly alike in 
their construction ; for we find in some of them that the side posts of the frame are 
omitted, and the upper cross piece Is fastened to a tree, and the lower one served with 
a loop of rope through which the weaver passes her limbs and then sits down upon, 
thus holding the warp of her belt firm and tense by her own weight as she sits cross- 
legged aftervvards at her work. Other modifications of this simple loom are also to 
be seen in the contrivances In use among the Zunlans and other Pueblo tribes, and 
there are a number of departures from the main details of the weaving (also to be 
noted), as we have described them above. 



CHAPTER XVI 

The Outline Blanket 

"DY AN "outline blanket" is meant one the designs of which are set 

forth in lines of another color, as illustrated in the color plate of 
Fig. 195. This outlining of the design produces a most charming and 
striking effect, inasmuch as it sets out the design with greater clearness. 
Just as a frame separates a painting from its surroundings and determines 
its individualness, so does an outline, if the colors are harmonious, show 
forth the beauty and striking character of the design. 

There are those who deem the outline blanket a recent, or modern. 
Innovation in Navaho weaving. Such is not the case. Many of the older 
and better blankets are in outline, and it is interesting to discover that 
long before the Navahos made blankets they were in the habit of using 
the outline in their sacred dry- or sand-paintings. A full account of these 
is given in Chapter XII. It should be observed, however, that while the 
use of the outline is very common in the sand-paintings it is by no means 
universal. I have examined and carefully studied many of these paintings, 
both in the medicine hogaus and in the pictures drawn by the Navaho 
shamans, and in some they appear on every figure, in others they are 
absent, while in some paintings the outlines are placed around some 
figures, and omitted from others. 

From these facts, therefore, it is easy to infer from whence the 
keen-witted and observant Navaho weaver gained the idea of her outline 
blanket. Her artistic perception showed her the great improvement and 
enhancement of beauty the added outlines would afford, and she sought 
and found the most suitable and harmonious combinations of color for the 
purpose. Only the real artist, however, would do this. The merely com- 
mercial weaver, or the inartistic, could see no reason why she should go 
to the added labor of outlining her design. Hence it is a general rule that 
can be relied upon almost to a certainty that an outline blanket is well 
woven. A weaver whose artistic perceptions demand of her the increased 
labor of adding the outline would naturally he offended with poor weaving. 

One who did much to further the development of the art was Mrs. 
Peabody, an eastern lady v/ho took so great an interest in the Navahos that 
she went and lived on the reservation for a while. At this time, some 
twenty-five years ago, she found the outline work almost abandoned. But 




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THE OUTLINE BLANKET 137 

her keen eye happening to find a few choice specimens of this type she 
began, with foresight and inspiration, to urge upon the better weavers, 
with whom she had influence, that they reintroduce the outhne. Encour- 
aged by her inteUigent appreciation and the more material fact that they 
were able to obtain a larger price for outlined blankets, a keen rivalry 
sprang up between the best weavers of the district in which she worked, 
and today it is from this portion of the reservation that the major part 
of the best "outlines" come. 

Naturally the traders of other sections desired to reap the advantage 
of these blankets of higher value and they began to urge upon their 
weavers of the better class the introduction of the outline. To some extent 
they succeeded; hence, now and again, an excellent and choice outline 
blanket will come from a region where one scarce expected it. 

Fig. 193, described on page 157, is of a fine Germantown blanket 
in which there is considerable outline work of delicate and artistic skill. 
Even in the illustration, which gives none of the striking color effects, and 
where, indeed, the effect of the design on the sides is almost lost, the rare 
delicacy of the white pencillings which outline the zigzags of color is 
clearly evidenced. 

Fig. 194 is of an exquisitely designed Germantown blanket in the 
Vroman collection, in which the outline is used in the inside of the oblique, 
or St. Andrew's Cross, as well as on two sides of each of the four-sided 
figures which terminate each leg of the cross. This emphasizing of the 
color of the design within is a powerful device, with wonderful capabilities 
in the hands of a skilful and artistic weaver. 

Fig. 195 shows the white outline zigzag used to set off a heavier line 
of color. 

Fig. 196 is of a blanket in the Fred Harvey collection of modern 
weave, in which a delicate outline of red around the inner side of the 
border and the outer edge of the two diamond designs of the center 
give it a distinction and artistic attractiveness that materially enhance its 
value. The body of the blanket is in silver gray, which is naturally varied 
in shade. 

A good modern specimen of the outline type of blanket is illustrated 
in Fig. 197. This was taken up from the floor of my living-room, where 
it has been in constant daily use for between seventeen and eighteen years. 
In color it is as rich and striking as the day I purchased it on the Little 
Colorado River, some fifty miles or so from the Santa Fe Railway at 
Canyon Diablo. The design is almost entirely of zigzags, arranged in 
diamond patterns with four other figures, two at each end. The basis of 
the blanket is red and orange. The two center diamonds contain centers in 
orange, outlined in lemon yellow. Each of these two large diamonds is 



138 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

bordered with black, and the black border, on each side, is outlined in 
white. Half diamonds treated in the same fashion throughout appear on 
each side of the blanket. On each side of the center diamonds are lemon 
yellow centers, outlined in purple, followed with a red border, outlined 
in rich green. The two half diamonds at each end are in red, bordered 
with violet, outlined on the outer side with a lighter and a darker shade 
of the same color, and on the inner side with black. The four figures 
(two at each end) are in black and green, outlined in yellow. 

Fig. 198 is a fairly representative outline blanket, of single saddle 
size, made of Germantown yarn, in my own collection. Here the center 
diamond is twice outlined in serrated lines, and the four corner diamonds 
are also outlined, thus bringing out the colors in striking relief. 

There is great scope afforded for artistic and creative ability even 
in so simple a matter as these outlines, and this not merely in the fineness 
or coarseness of the weave. The outline may show all the difference 
between the one slight touch of color change, that gives artistic attractive- 
ness, and the heavy overtoiich which is an impertinence and intrusion. It 
is not good for a careless weaver to attempt the outline. 




Fri;, 11)5. 
Outline Blanket. 

(Calk-ctiun of C C. ManiiiiiK ("o.) 
Designed by KL*h-ycz-/.hic I'f-ma. 



CHAPTER XVII 

Kachhia or Yci Blankets 

T N THE Hopi and Zuni pantheons there are certain divinities of greater 
or lesser power and importance, called Kach'uuis. These are often 
represented upon the baskets of the Hopi, as in Fig. 199, and these are 
called KacJiina baskets. Corresponding somewhat to these Pueblo divin- 
ities are the Navaho Yei, representations of which are common in the 
sand-paintings. To reproduce these, however, in any unauthorized or 
secular fashion has always been deemed impossible by the reverent and 
devout Navaho. Even to see a photograph of a sand-painting, if it con- 
tained a representation of the Yei, gave a shock to most Navahos, and 
while the medicine-men chanters never resented Dr. Matthews's making 
pictures of the paintings, and, indeed, as he says, often came to ask to 
look at them when instructing younger members as their assistants, this 
may be regarded as the familiarity of the professional rather than the 
normal attitude of the ordinary lay member of the tribe. 

Possibly strict truth demands that a little explanation be made 
of the feeling of the Navahos about reproducing pictorial representations 
of the Yei. While in many there is no doubt that reverence and de\out 
feeling enter into this disinclination to reproduce the sacred Yei, to others, 
especially of the men, fear and superstition have a large place. One may 
have both fear and superstitition and yet be reverent and devout, but, too 
often, alas, not only with Navahos but also with whites, there is such a 
thing as being possessed by the spirit of the former and not of the latter. 
It is when fear and superstition reign supreme, unsanctified, unmodified 
by reverence and devotion, that fanaticism, bigotry, and cruelty control. 
With these thoughts in view it can well be understood with what 
shocked surprise, thrilled horror, and fierce condemnation the Navahos 
learned that a blanket, clearly of Navaho origin, was on exhibition at a 
certain trader's store into which was woven as the design the figure of one 
of the yei. It is almost impossible for a white man to comprehend the 
vast sensation this caused. Councils were held over the reservation to 
discuss the matter, and the trader was finally commanded to remove the 
blanket containing the offending emblems from the wall of his oflice. He 
refused, and for a time his life was deemed in jeopardy. But he was a 
fearless and obstinate man, and resisted all the pressure brought to bear 

139 



140 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

upon him, though among themselves the Navahos still argued and dis- 
cussed the sacrilege, and a shooting-scrape in which one man lost his life 
was the outcome. 

For a long time it was not known who the weaver of this blanket 
was, but it eventually became known. She is one of the inventive geniuses 
in design, whose taste Invariably goes to figures. Horses, sheep, cattle, 
men, women, etc., she loves to picture as she weaves, and her skill in 
manipulating the yarn is as great as her designing ability. She it was 
who, having lost the superstitious fear that oppresses most Navahos, men 
or women, as to the evil power of the Yei, determined to make the blanket. 
Incorporating their sacred figures as her design. The blanket was seen by 
a collector and sold to him for several hundred dollars. For some time 
the weaver refused to make another, but finally produced one of others 
of the gods, and later still another. There are only some six or seven of 
these Yci blankets known to exist. Two of them are now in the possession 
of Mr. Richard T. F. Simpson, Indian trader at Canyon Gallegos, near 
Farmlngton, New Mexico, one of which is reproduced in Fig. 200, and 
another is owned by Mr. William MacGInnles, of Boulder, Colorado. 

Fig. 201 is a half-tone reproduction of one of the earlier of 
this woman's Yei blankets. This is clearly an attempt to produce In 
weaving one of the figures from one of the sand-paintings used In The 
Night Chant. The figure is that of a Ychaad, or female divinity, for the 
Navahos provide all the male gods of their pantheon with wives. This 
may account for the fact that Navaho women are equally influential in the 
affairs of the tribe as the men. Or It may be the other way, viz., that 
because Navaho women are powerful and influential In tribal matters 
they therefore occupy an important place in the Navaho pantheon. 

In The Night Chant the female divinities are supposed to exercise 
great healing influence, and they generally appear in the dances on the two 
last nights. In these dances the character is generally assumed by a 
youth, largely naked, the exposed portion of the body being painted white. 
He wears an ornate scarf or skirt around the hips with a belt, the ends of 
which are fringed or tasselled, and from which depend pieces of twigs of 
juniper or other ornamentation. 

These are crudely represented in the figure, while the skirt or loin 
cloth is represented by the widening out of the design above the knees. 
The peculiar dangling objects at the two bottom corners of the skirts are 
bunches of tassels or other ornaments of which the Navahos are inordi- 
nately fond. The head dress or mask of the Yehaad is of the female 
type, which differs fundamentally from that of the Yei, or male gods. 
While the latter, like a bag Inverted, covers the entire head and neck, 
and completely conceals the hair of the wearer, the former conceals only 




Fir,. To6. 
A Fine Modern Blanket of the Best Type. 

(I red HrlrVLV ColIfCtinn.l (Pace i,!7] 




3 

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oa 



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C 

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KACHINA OR YEI BLANKETS 141 

the face and throat and allows the hair to flow out freely over the 
shoulders. The Ycbaad actor never wears the hair bound up in a queue. 
While the male mask is soft and pliable, the female mask is stiff and hard, 
being made of untanned skin. It is nearly square in shape; the top is 
slightly rounded and in some cases the base is a little broader than the 
top. There is a flap or wing, called the ear, on each side about two 
inches broad, as long as the margin of the mask proper, and indented or 
crenated on the outer margin. The margins are all alike in each set of 
masks, but not in any two sets. The hole for the mouth is square. The 
holes for the eyes are triangular — the apices pointing outwards. The 
mask is painted blue, the ears white, a square field around the mouth-hole, 
and a triangular field around each eye-hole are black. 

The Yebaad holds a bunch of spruce twigs in each hand and long arm 
pendants hang down from elbows to wrist. The lower legs are uncov- 
ered, to denote that the figure is standing or dancing, the skirt always 
covering the legs of a sitting figure. 

Fig. 202 is from a painting made of another noted Yei blanket, 
owned by Mr. W. MacGinnies. Its size is fifty-eight by eighty-seven 
inches, and it is made throughout of wool, both the warp and weft. The 
background is a beautiful silver gray, somewhat similar, and as closely 
approximating as the dyer could attain, to the gray sand used in the sacred 
paintings. The chief and outside figure, which makes the border for 
three-fourths of the way around the blanket, is that of the rainbow deity. 

In the paintings it consists of two long stripes, each about two inches wide, one 
of blue, one of red, bordered and separated by narrow lines of white. At the 
southeastern end of the bow is a representation of the body below the waist, such 
as the other gods have, consisting of pouch, skirts, legs, and feet. At the north- 
eastern end we have head, neck, and arms. The head of the rainbow is rectangular, 
while the heads of the other forms in the picture are round. 

There are those who have seen this blanket who aflirm that It Is a 
reproduction of one of the pictures of a sand-painting used by either Dr. 
Matthews or Colonel Stevenson to describe certain ceremonies of The 
Night Chant, in one of the reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology. 
Such Is not the case. There are some points of similarity, but In some 
most Important points this blanket is strikingly dissimilar. 

Mr. MacGinnies informs me that certain Navahos gave him the 
following explanation of the design: 

The outside figure, the one extending three-quarters around the rug, is the god 
of double sex, being the Navaho way of expressing their conception of the deity, who 
never dies, constantly reproducing himself, so to speak, the red part representing the 
male and the blue the female. This was the being who, according to their traditions, 
gave them the corn, and you will notice an ear of corn pass between the hands of 
this figure and of the god next to it on the blanket. 



142 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

The other figures are shown as giving the lightning and the rain ; the corn stalk 
with its symbolic number, three ears of corn ; the bluebird, representing the messenger, 
resting upon the tassel at the tip of the stalk; the rainbow colors, which are also the 
colors of the Summer People under the feet of the figures. The long strings of half 
diamonds depending from the hands of the two inner figures have been explained to 
me as being the calendar sticks, they being divided into certain numbers of different 
colors to represent diiiferent epochs or pages in the history of the people, the true 
crosses at the end of the strings being either symbolic of the deity or being phallic 
symbols. 

I am Inclined to the belief that Mr. MacGinnies has been misin- 
formed. As I have elsewhere explained, the Navahos believe there are 
five colors in the rainbow, and some assert that each color is a different 
individual. Hence, according to this theory, there are five rainbow 
goddesses. It will be noticed that there are five distinct lines in the out- 
side figure, the white and yellow separating the red and the black. This 
gives the five colors, or the five goddesses, as the case may be. The bird 
represented is the bluebird {Sialia arctica), which is called by the Navahos 
Tlioly. He is of the color of the south, and the upper regions. He is 
the herald of the morning. His call of "Tholy, Tholy" is the first that 
is heard when the gray dawn approaches. Therefore, is he sacred, and 
his feathers form a component part of nearly all the plume-sticks used 
in the worship of the Navaho. Two bluebirds, it is said, stand guard at 
the door of the house where the gods dwell; hence they are represented 
in the east of the picture. 

There is little or no doubt in my own mind that this blanket is a 
more or less accurate reproduction of some sand-painting used in a cere- 
mony to which the women have free access, and that the white race, as yet, 
has no photograph or drawing of. As I have before explained, we have 
but few of the sand-paintings pictured, and no one as far as I know, save 
Mrs. John Wetherill, is now engaged in study upon this important and 
instructive branch of Navaho ceremonial and religious art. 

The rarity of these Yei blankets makes them highly desirable, and 
happy is that collector who has one in his possession. 

Another blanket that contains some of the sacred symbols of the 
sand-paintings is shown in Fig. 203, designed and wqven by Dug-gau- 
eth-lun Bi-dazhie. It is 64x92 inches in size, and the swastikas, with 
their flying terminals, are regarded with great reverence and superstition 
by the devout Navahos. This woman and her near relatives who are 
weavers have overcome their superstitious dread about the making of 
such blankets, for they have repeated this and similar designs in a dozen 
or more blankets during the past ten years. They are ready to make 
them to order in any colors, sizes varying from 45x75 inches up to 6x9 
feet. These blankets are classed as extra standard. 




Fn.. n/), 
Hopi Basket, Showing Figure of Kachina. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Tlie Classification of Modern Blankets 

'* I ""HE chief points to be considered in determining the value of a 

modern blanket are — 

1. Size and Quality of Warp. 

2. Size and Quality of Woof or Weft. 

3. Quality and Harmony of Color. 

4. Firmness and Regularity of Weave. 

5. Originality and Attractiveness of Design. 

Let us look at each of these points with a view to aiding the intending 
purchaser to know intelligently what he is doing. 

Size and Quality of JVarp. — Except in very light weight blankets 
an all-wool warp should be insisted upon. As I have shown in the chapter 
on the deterioration of the art, cotton-warps were introduced to cheapen 
the price by saving the time of the weaver. Unfortunately, it did not have 
the desired effect. The weaver expected as much for her cotton-warped 
blanket — which warp she had bought for a small sum — as she did for 
the blanket made on honestly-woven, strong, and durable wool warp which 
would have taken her several days to spin. A cotton warp is less yield- 
ing than wool; its tensile strength is very much less, hence when there is 
any pressure placed upon the fabric a cotton warp will often give way 
and the blanket is then on the way to speedy dissolution. 

The size of the warp is a matter for serious consideration, and the 
tightness with which it is spun. It is, as it were, the skeleton upon which 
the flesh of the woof or weft is hung. It must be large enough and tightly 
woven enough to bear the weft to stand all the ordinary and expected 
strains that may be made upon it. Many an otherwise good blanket is 
almost valueless because the warp strands are not thick and strong enough, 
by tight spinning, to bear the strain of shaking or using in the fairly rough 
manner such household articles are commonly subjected to. 

Size of JVoof. — It must be evident to every purchaser that a coarse, 
loosely-spun yarn cannot make as durable, beautiful, or desirable a blan- 
ket as one made from a fine tightly-spun yarn. Many blankets of har- 
monious color and striking design are undesirable because the weft is 
not composed of a fine and tightly-woven yarn. Then, too, no fine blan- 
ket can be made from a coarse varn. The finer the yarn the greater 

143 



144 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

demand upon the weaver to "batten" it down well in weaving. Hence a 
fine yarn blanket is prtma-facie a better-woven and, therefore, more dur- 
able one than one with a coarse yarn. 

In the working out of design, too, a fine woof or weft yarn is essen- 
tial. The fine lines that often delight the eye, and the introduction of 
slight touches of color here and there that make all the difference between 
the mediocre or commonplace and the striking and distinctive are Impos- 
sible with a coarse woof yarn. 

Quality of fVoof Yarn. — But not only must the woof yarn be tightly 
spun; it must be of good quality wool, silky in texture, of long staple, 
and of great tensile strength. Where it is possible — and if there is a 
fringe made of the same yarn as the woof it answers as if prepared for 
the purpose — the yarn should be carefully examined. The finer the 
wool, the softer and silkier to the feel, the longer the staple, and the 
stronger it proves itself, the better the blanket. But even with all these 
qualities in its favor the wool may be dirty, and therefore unable to receive 
or retain the color in which it is dyed. Hence its cleanliness and freedom 
from extraneous substances, as small burrs, pieces of vegetable fibre, small 
sticks, etc., should be considered and carefully examined Into. Where one 
has the opportunity of comparing the grade of blankets I have designated 
as "common" with the "extra standard," or "native wool fancy" grades, 
he will readily note the differences, and understand why he should pay 
more for the better class of blankets than the former, even though the 
former look quite as well, or even better, to his eye, than the latter. 

Color. — Color Is a most Important factor in a blanket. In the first 
days of aniline dyes when the Navahos were suddenly awakened to the 
fact that the whole rainbow gamut of colors was open to them at ten 
cents a package, they Indulged in a riot of colors that was a debauch and 
delirium combined. There are still some remnants left of this wild 
frenzy of unrestrained color in the Navahos' minds, though the conser- 
vative traders have ceased to supply certain of the colors whose use is 
likely to be disadvantageous. So long as the Indians were left to their 
own unperverted tastes their color harmonies were pleasing, and though 
somewhat limited, perfect and satisfying. But when they were given 
unrestrained freedom, with the Idea that the white man desired the frenzy 
of color, their normal tastes became perverted, and it is one of the unfor- 
tunate facts of life that ten years of exercise of a perverted taste takes 
four times ten years to eradicate. 

Hence determine whether the colors are pleasing In themselves, har- 
monious in relation to each other, and then whether they will harmonize 
with the color-scheme into which you wish to introduce the blanket. 

It should also be remembered that Time is a klndlv mlnlstrant to 




Fig. 21-X). 
Blanket with Yei or Divinity Design. 

(Courtesy cf K. T. I-". Sunp^"" ' 



H'M.r M"! 



CLASSIFICATION OF MODERN BLANKETS 145 

loud or unrestrained colors. Even as he tones down the exuberant boister- 
ousness of youth, so does he subdue, soften, and render mellow and har- 
monious the riot of colors some otherwise excellent blankets contain. This 
has been proven in many cases, where twenty-five years have worked 
wonders on highly colored blankets and toned them down to soft and 
pleasing blends. 

JFeave. — Now comes the question of weave. Is the blanket well 
woven? Square? Even in stitch? In some places the weaver "bungles" 
her work. (See Fig. 207.) In other words, she does not take her woof 
straight across where there is nothing to hinder, and then she "fills up" 
the space awkwardly and clumsily to the manifest injury of the looks of tlie 
blanket. Regularity should be insisted upon, and then, for a good blan- 
ket, be sure to see that each row of woof is well "battened" down — in 
other words, that it is tight and solid. 

And yet, somehow, there is another side to what I have termed above 
"bungling." In this blanket from which the illustrative photograph is 
made (Fig. 207), as well as others in my possession, this very irregularity 
of the weave produces a pleasing effect on the mind. It arouses thought. 
What made the weaver do it? Why did she not go directly across the 
fabric with this yarn when she desired it to be of the same color and stitch? 

Then a picture comes to me of a somewhat tired weaver, squatted 
before her blanket, the sun just happening at that time of the day to be 
in such a position that if she moved a trifle to right or left her tired 
shoulders would come directly under its powerful rays. Too weary to 
make the effort to move or to place a screen between herself and the sun, 
and made a trifle careless by her weariness, her tired hands reach as far 
as the shade goes, and then sends the ball of yarn back, thus making the 
"bungle" or irregularity that nothing but the destruction of the blanket 
can efface. How human and how real. How close it brings one to the 
blanket. It is a "bungle," but it makes the blanket mean more than it 
did before. It gives it the human loiicJi, that flash of life and reality that 
sets it distinct and apart from machine work. It makes it the work of a 
personal, living, sentient human being. And these recognitions of 
humanity in such work are good. They are, in reality, most precious in 
the things we are able to purchase. 

In this connection my attention has been called to the assertion made 
that when these "bungles" appear in Oriental rugs they are done pur- 
posely, in order to confuse the evil spirits who might otherwise work 
injury to the weavers or users of the rug; and the question is asked. May 
not the Navaho weavers be controlled by the same idea? 

I do not think so. While superstitious, the Navaho weavers' dread 
is not aroused in this direction, and in all my talks with them, while this 



146 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

kind of question has often been asked, there has never been any response 
given that suggested such fear. Furthermore, if it were a general supersti- 
tion all the blankets would show similar erratic weaving. The fact that 
very few blankets in a thousand are so woven is conclusive proof that they 
are not influenced by such a fear. 

Design. — The marvel of the infinite variety in Navaho blanket 
designs never grows less. The more one sees and knows the more the 
marvel grows. From the simple and plain alternate bands pictured in 
Fig. 204, of the common type, to the complex, highly ornate, and bril- 
liantly colored designs created by a modern genius is a gigantic step in 
artistic development, and one for which the aboriginal weaver is entitled 
to our highest consideration and appreciation. 

Naturally in choosing a fine blanket the quality of the design Is a 
matter the importance of which cannot be too highly estimated. Personal 
taste, necessarily, largely enters into the choice of a design. What will 
please one may be displeasing to another. The place the blanket is to fill 
should be a helping factor in coming to a decision. As a rule, however, 
too great complexity is not desirable, the plainer and simpler the design, 
in reason, the more pleasing it becomes with time. There are some 
designs, however, such, for instance, as that shown in Fig. 205, that are 
too simple, too plain, too large, for general use. A plain series of stripes 
or bands would be much preferable to this " Greek key " on so large a scale. 

On the other hand the one large panel of Fig. 206 is so broken up by 
the black and white bands that it does not seem too large, and althoupjh 
the blanket is 60x96 inches in size, and the single panel practically fills 
up the whole space, there has never been a moment when it has seemed 
inappropriate or unpleasing. 

In considering this subject of design the reader should not overlook 
the fact that the Navahos have proven themselves possessed of inventive 
genius in this department of art. There are no "stock" designs as far as 
they are concerned. Repetition of design comes from the desire of the 
white race for duplication — "I want a blanket exactly like that one" — 
never from the unperverted, natural instincts of the weaver. And while 
I feel that my publishers have been generous in the number of illustra- 
tions they have included in this book, to me the number is inadequate and 
altogether limited as far as conveying to the reader anything like an idea 
of the vast and marvelous variety a study of the Navaho's textiles affords. 
Multiply the designs reproduced herein by ten thousand and still new and 
striking designs will continually be found. Hence the exacting con- 
noisseur should not hesitate to discard a thousand designs, if necessary, to 
secure what he desires, for he may rest assured that if he is patient and 
persistent, the one design of his longing will ultimately come into his hands. 




Fig. 201. 
Yei Blanket. 



[Pace 140] 



CLASSIFICATION OF MODERN BLANKETS 147 

While I have thus attempted to analyze the elemental factors that 
go to the making of a good Navaho blanket, no one knows better than I 
how inadequate my attempt is. For after all, when the fire of genius 
burns it will manifest itself even though the instrumentality be poor warp, 
and unclean, ill-spun, poorly dyed weft. Genius rises triumphant over all 
adverse conditions and compels admiration and respect in spite of them. 
But, when genius triumphs and is enabled to use perfect and fitting mani- 
festations for its soarings, then — when the result is a Navaho blanket — 
one has a poem of weaving, shot through and through with an exquisite 
melody, accompanied by glorious harmonies of color that make the design. 
These are the priceless treasures one occasionally sees in the collections 
of connoisseurs, more rarely has offered to him for sale, and now and 
again triumphantly finds when rambling in solitary and wild places on the 
reservation, far, far away from the haunts of civilized and artistically 
sophisticated mankind. 

In what is presented above there is that which will enable a tyro to 
determine the relative value of a Navaho blanket, but to those engaged in 
the purchase and sale of them as a business, there is still another individ- 
ualistic analysis of blankets for purposes of broad classification which 
others may find helpful and suggestive. 

It must be recognized, however, at the outset, that it is impossible to 
classify and describe a Navaho blanket as the products of the white man's 
loom are classified. The colors are dissimilar, the weave is different, the 
designs are individualistic, and, therefore, play up and down a marvelous 
gamut, the warp and woof threads are spun tighter or looser according to 
the whim of the weaver, the finished product is closely or more loosely 
woven according to the time taken or haste shown in the work. Hence, 
practically every Indian blanket must be examined for itself and then 
placed in a broad classification to which it belongs, only, however, by a 
consideration of its general characteristics. 

This broad classification scheme is as follows, with examples and 
descriptions which will broadly typify each class: 

/. Common 

Generally these are woven of coarse yarn, an eighth of an Inch more 
or less in diameter, made of wool that has been indifferently cleaned and 
dyed. They are usually made for saddle-blankets, and are in reds, blacks, 
dirty whites, and grays, with other colors occasionally appearing. No 
first-class dealer ever cares to handle this type of blanket, unless it be that 
some one orders a quantity for a special purpose or that he pick out a 



148 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

few of a little better quality than the average. There is no reliability to 
be placed upon the warp, anything being used that is most readily at hand. 
It may be strong and even of wool, but, equally, it may be rotten and 
cotton. Generally they are of a simple striped pattern, though some- 
times I have bought them of a coarse diagonal weave, and twenty years 
or so ago one could occasionally pick up a well-woven blanket in this 
class. 

The average size of a saddle-blanket may be said to be in the neigh- 
borhood of 36x48 inches; some being a trifle larger and some smaller. A 
"common" blanket larger than this size is seldom to be desired, though 
often found in the cheaper "curio" stores, where trashy blankets are dis- 
posed of to the unwary. Beware of these places. There are plenty of 
reliable dealers to be found, and the mail order business, referred to in 
the chapter devoted to reliable dealers, places any would-be purchaser in 
the United States in immediate contact with those whose knowledge and 
experience are safeguards and assurances against deception. 

Blankets of the "common" variety can generally be bought, in quan- 
tity, by the pound. All else are now sold, as a rule, by the piece, though 
there are still a few traders who sell certain grades to their retailers by 
the pound. The public, however, can seldom buy in any other way than 
the piece. 

It should not be overlooked that, comparatively speaking, there are a 
great many of this poorer quality of blankets made which find their way 
into circulation through the hands of irresponsible traders. And by this 
I do not mean dishonest traders — they buy these blankets at a low price 
and sell them correspondingly. But they often come into the hands of 
dealers — wholesale and retail — who care nothing for quality or price 
so long as they can collect their toll from everything that passes through 
their hands. Hence, while compared with the number of the superior 
grades of blankets that the reliable Indian traders and wholesalers suc- 
ceed in obtaining the number of these poor blankets is small, in the aggre- 
gate they amount to a large enough quantity to lead the wise purchaser 
to be cautious. Unless one is assured that he knows it is far better to trust 
to the judgment of an expert, or purchase only from those who deal in no 
other than first-class and unquestionably desirable blankets, than to run 
the risk of having one of these common grades thrust into one's possession. 

Now and again where one has large experience and knowledge he 
may "pick up" either from a trader on the reservation, or a weaver, one 
or more of these common type of a little better quality and finer weave, 
and such are often good enough to use for places where a first-class and 
expensive blanket is not desired. Occasionally I have made purchases of 
this kind and have always found a ready market for them amongst those 




ITi^LtltSl 



FlC. 20^. 

Yei Blanket from a Painting. 

(L!.v iHTinissiuii uf the „niui. \\ . .\hic( .iniiu >, 1 



fPACii 141] 



CLASSIFICATION OF MODERN BLANKETS 149 

of my friends and others who desired a cheaper blanket, and yet who did 
not wish to waste their money on a worthless one. 

Of this class of blanket the one in the loom and covering the knees 
of the weaver in Fig. 207 may be regarded as a type, though it does not 
always follow that blankets without design or color (as is the one in the 
loom), are always trashily common. 

Fig. 208 is also of what might be termed a little better quality of 
common blanket. Here bands of color are introduced, in which geometri- 
cal figures are worked in simple but effective fashion. Fig. 209 also is 
another specimen of this class. While of a cheap variety, it is not unpleas- 
ing, the banded and colored effect being variable enough to destroy 
monotony. 

Fig. 210 is of a common blanket in the Matthews collection, closely 
woven, twilled and practically waterproof, while Fig. 211, not being so 
closely woven, is better fitted for rough use as a camping-out blanket. 

This fact should ever be borne in mind, viz., that a heavy, closely 
woven blanket is not suited either for a bed-blanket or for camping-out 
purposes, unless one places it underneath him. The stiffness makes the 
blanket so that it does not fit snugly to the body, and the result is that 
if one attempts to use one of this type for either of these purposes he is 
sure to be disappointed. 

On the other hand, the loosely woven blankets, especially if the 
yarn is not too coarse, are highly suitable for both these purposes, though 
the ordinary types are much too heavy for bed use except in a very 
cold climate. 

Now and again what may almost be regarded as another type of 
common blanket finds its way to the market, or can be purchased on the 
reservation. I have had many of them during the past twenty-five years. 
This type is illustrated in Fig. 212. At first the stranger to it wonders 
why it is woven half with a design and half without. Here is the reason. 
It is a saddle-blanket, which, before being placed on the horse's back, 
must be doubled. The plain portion is then next to the horse — because 
it is hidden — while the "designed" half is outside and exposed. While 
at first when these are placed upon the floor, or on a porch, as rugs, they 
have a peculiar and sometimes unpleasantly strange effect, I know of 
many cases where their owners have become quite fond of them and have 
learned to enjoy their singularity. 

//. Standard 

In the earlier days of the awakening industry there was a grade 
regularly known by the name of "Extra Common." It was made of finer 



I50 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

yarn, cleaner wool, better dyes, and greater variety of designs than the 
"common." The sizes varied from saddle-blankets to the largest products 
of the loom. Today, however, these are mainly graded as "Standard," 
and comprise the general run of ordinary Navaho blankets. In this grade 
will be found every color of the rainbow (though the less harmonious 
pieces are rapidly disappearing), the coarser of the outline blankets, and 
the coarser of the native grays, blacks, whites, and browns. These are 
literally turned out by the hundreds, though, as knowledge increases, and 
purchasers are willing to pay a trifle more per blanket, the demand for 
the better quality blankets will cause the supply of this grade to diminish. 
At the same time it must be remembered that all Navaho weavers are not 
alike. There are the shiftless and the indifferent among them just as there 
are among the whites, and so long as a weaver knows that she can take 
even an indifferently woven blanket to the trader and get enough for it 
to buy flour, baking-powder, coffee, and sugar to last for a month or two, 
she will not go to the trouble of improving the quality of her work. 

Fig. 213 is of a size rather smaller than what might be regarded as 
an ordinary standard size. It is 46x751/ inches, with body color of gray, 
and the triangular designs in red, white, and black, the red being inside. 
The border at each end is gray, white, and black. 

Fig. 214 is 48x79 inches in size, with a dark gray body. The border, 
however, is red, two and a half inches wide on the sides, and three and a 
half inches at each end. The designs throughout are in black and white, 
save in the center, and the four diamonds nearest to the center, where 
there is an inner touch of red. Fig. 215 is of about the same size, with a 
gray body, the designs being in gray, white, and a little red. 

These are typical specimens, although as elsewhere explained, the 
sizes vary from saddle-blanket size to twelve or more feet square, and 
the designs are as many and varied as there are blankets. 

A rather unique and pleasing blanket of the standard class is one 
made expressly for me as a gift by the widow of the last great warrior 
chief of the Navahos, Manuelito. The dear old lady and I became great 
friends. I made many excellent photographs of her, one of which is 
reproduced in Fig. 152, and some months after my leave-taking and return 
home, I received the blanket shown in Fig. 216, with a message of appre- 
ciation and affection. The blanket is closely woven, though of heavy yarn. 
The body is white; the Greek border in gray, outlined in black, while the 
center figure is of maroon, outlined or bordered with green, orange, blue, 
and lemon yellow. While these colors — to read about them — may not 
seem to harmonize, the blanket itself is pleasing to most eyes, and, any- 
how, color harmony is largely a matter of individualistic taste. 

Of this standard type is Fig. 217. This is about 38x76 inches in 




Fi(.. jo.i. 
Blanket with Sacred Symbols. 

(Courtesy 111" J. A. Miilnli.m \- Cn, } 
Pcsigiu-d and \MU-cn liy 1 tni; t^au flli-liin lli-ilazllic- 



[P.\GE Ui] 



CLASSIFICATION OF MODERN BLANKETS 151 

size, with a red body, with the central diamond, and the centers of the 
two end figures in gray. Gray and black also appear in the borders. 

Occasionally a blanket similar to Fig. 218 will be found in this 
class, 5x7)^ feet or thereabouts in size. There is no certainty, however, 
that blankets of standard quality will be found like this, as most of the 
weavers now seek, when they make a blanket as large and well designed 
as this, to have it so good that it is immediately recognized as of the extra 
standard quality. 

Fig. 219 is an excellent standard blanket, with gray body, and red 
interior design picked out in white. Its size is about 5x7 feet, and the 
design is peculiarly striking and forceful. It was made by Hastin Deet-si 
Be Ahd, who is very proud of it, and who occasionally makes up a similar 
blanket in native wools, undyed. 

Fig. 220 is a standard quality blanket, in my own collection, which 
I bought some years ago. It is saddle size, viz., 30x45 inches, body in 
red, the design down the center in black and brown, although in the illus- 
tration the brown is scarcely distinguishable. The zigzag outlines on the 
side set off portions of diamonds in violet, brown, and black, while the 
two striking white designs on each side are joined to a light blue design 
of equal size, which the photograph fails to reveal. 

Two standard blankets of saddle size, both of which, however, were 
being worn by children when he secured them, are in the Matthews col- 
lection. These are Figs. 221 and 222, and the designs of both are effec- 
tive and pleasing, especially as they are of a better quality than ordinarily 
found in saddle-blankets. In commenting on the border in Fig. 222, Dr. 
Matthews says such regular border of uniform device all the way around 
is a very rare thing. 

This may have been so in the Doctor's day, but, as many illustrations 
in this book show, the weavers have made it now quite a familiar sight. 

///. Native JJ'ooh, Undyed 

The undyed native wools are those that come naturally from the 
sheep. They are whites, blacks, browns, and grays, the last being either 
a natural growth (of which there is comparatively a small shearing), or 
made by a judicious admixture of black and white while spinning the yarn. 
The demand for this class of blanket, when the design is good, has been 
a steadily growing one, as the public taste has been cultivated during the 
past ten to fifteen years. I well remember when I used to buy a fine 
quality of this type at a less price than that now charged for " standards." 
Indeed, there was comparatively small call for them. Those bought in 
the earlier days were urged upon the taste of the critical for use in bed- 



152 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

rooms, or other places where quiet shades were desirable, and a ready 
market was soon found for all that could be procured. Slowly, then more 
rapidly, they grew in favor, until now many weavers spend their whole 
time in making them. 

This type as a rule, is made from wool that has no acquaintance 
whatever with dye. The sheep of the Navaho grow wool that is black, 
white, gray, and brown. There are some black and brown native wools, 
however, that are not pronounced enough to be pleasing, and in such cases 
the wool is cleaned, carded, spun, and dyed — that is, the black is put into 
black dye to make its blackness uniform, and the same is done with 
the brown. 

In many cases the gray of a gray blanket is made by carefully carding 
together black and white wool. When this is properly done a pleasing 
gray is the result, but the most desirable gray is that which comes from a 
special breed of sheep and is silver gray of itself. This is a glossy wool, 
of a bright and attractive gray, and blankets made from it, with due intro- 
duction of design or outline in black, white, or brown, are eagerly sought 
after. They, however, are generally extra well woven, so come into the 
class called " extras." 

Figs. 223-227 and 39 are all of native wool, undyed, but the five 
latter are so well woven and of such excellent and pleasing design that 
they would Immediately be graded as "Extras" of this type. 

Fig. 227 is one of the modern blankets of this type made by the 
best weavers on the reservation of today, and is one of the many found 
in the Fred Harvey collection. The body of the blanket is gray with 
alternate rows of diamonds extending across the blanket. The first row 
has one center diamond, with a half-diamond on each side, the outer line 
of the figure being in black. The second row comprises two complete 
diamonds, the outer line being in white. They thus alternate from bottom 
to top. 

Blankets of this kind are especially adapted to be used as rugs in 
dining-rooms, bedrooms, sitting-rooms, or porches, and are capable of 
enduring the roughest kind of wear. 

A peculiarly attractive blanket that contains a great deal of native 
wool, undyed, is shown in Fig. 228. The body color is of natural brown, 
carefully cleaned, deodorized, and spun. It was designed and woven by 
Chas-cin-ni-bit-See, and Is 60x90 inches in size. Like the native silver 
gray, this pure brown is rather rare, and blankets made from it are to be 
prized, especially if the designs are artistic and pleasing. In this case 
the red and blue of the design are of dyed yarn, but where black and 
gray are Introduced with the brown the color effect is even more pleasing 
than with the red and blue. 




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Fic. 206. 

Blanket with Large but Pleasing Design. 

I Aiillii.r's CciIkcii'Mi.) 



CLASSIFICATION OF MODERN BLANKETS 153 

A little native brown is introduced into Fig. 227. This is 58x113 
inches in size, and each of the diamonds has one of its panels in brown. 
This is a blanket secured on the reservation in the winter of 19 12-13, 
and is one of the finest specimens of modern weave I have ever seen. 
While not so fine as the oldtime bayetas, it is equally well woven and is a 
splendid specimen of the weaver's art, though the design is neither so 
striking nor individualistic as many others herein pictured. 

IV. Extras: Outline, Standard, or Native IFooIs, Undyed 

Naturally, certain weavers excel no matter what form of work they 
produce from their looms. When such specimens of excellence are 
brought to the traders they grade them as of "extra" quality and charge 
an extra price for them. The determining points of "extras" are wool- 
warp, fineness of woof-warp, good color, excellence of design, harmony 
of color and design, and general superiorltv and fineness of weave. 

This Is the class of blanket of which Fred Harvey makes a specialty. 
He keeps no cheaper grades. His weavers are constantly urged on to the 
production of "extras." This, and even better qualities, are the only 
types he recommends or guarantees, and on blankets of this character he 
is ready to give the most comprehensive guarantees. 

J. A. Molohon & Co. have also gained a reputation for this class 
of blankets, though they announce that they keep the ordinary standard 
grades at a lower price. 

Fig. 229 shows one of especially fine effect, designed and made by 
Hastin Dug-agh-eth-lun Be-Ahd. It is about 52x84 Inches In size, and 
is In gray, white, and black. Blankets of this type are made by the same 
weaver in sizes ranging from 45x76 Inches up to 6x9 feet. Occasionally 
she will introduce a trifle of color into the border, or interior figures, but, 
as a rule, she prefers to stick to the native undyed wools. 

Of equal quality and even more striking in design is Fig. 230, 
designed and woven by Bl-leen Al-pI-Bi-zha-Ahd. This woman has never 
been known either to copy the design of another weaver or to repeat one 
of her own. Every blanket must be an original. She is of an essentially 
artistic temperament, and has the creative Instinct developed to a high 
degree. In this blanket the native brown Is introduced with pleasing 
effect. This is 75x115 inches In size. A blanket of this size and type is 
worth, according to quality and fineness of weave, from $60 to $150. 

It is a source of great pleasure to know a weaver of this woman's 
natural aptitude. If she can be found alone and Induced to speak freely 
she converses interestingly and fluently of the Influences that determine 
the designs of her blankets and the reasons she will never duplicate them. 



154 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

In effect she says that if she duplicates, the voices of "Those Above" 
will no longer inspire her to make new designs. In other words, she 
must trust the gods to supply her artistic needs and ever be in the receptive 
condition to take in what they send. 

Occasionally blankets of these sizes and similar designs are brought 
in to the traders of the standard class, then the prices are correspondingly 
lower. 

Very popular both in design and color is Fig. 231, which originated 
from the busy brain and fingers of Bi-leen Alpi Bi-zha Ahd. The soft gray 
of the body and border, with the white panel picked out in a small design 
of red, white, and black, makes an effective and pleasing combination. 
The size of the original is 56x86 inches, but it is made to order in extra 
grades from 45x76 inches up to 6x9 feet, and Is often kept in stock in some 
of those sizes. While originally made in the standard quality, it is seldom 
found in that grade, though occasionally one is brought in of similar 
though not exact duplicate pattern in that quality. 

The same weaver also designed Fig. 232. This is 5x71/$ feet in 
size, in which grays, blacks (or deep blues), browns, and reds are skilfully 
commingled In a daring design. She has also woven the same design in 
red, white, and black. These are made to order in the extra class, in any 
colors required and In any of the standard sizes. 

Fig. 218 is of an extra quality blanket. This was designed by 
Meh-ll-to Be Day-zhle and is 5x71/2 feet in size. The major portion of 
the body is red, with white, black, and blue, or gray In the design. This 
is one of the stock designs of the Manning Company, and can be made 
up In any color, such as gray, white, and black, when it would be classed 
as a native wool, undyed, of the extra quality. The sizes, too, vary, and 
are often found "In stock," as, for instance, 45x76 inches up to 65x96 
Inches. 

Fig. 219 shows a striking and original blanket, which, while classed 
as standard, is often made up in extra grades, of sizes from 48x72 inches 
up to 6x8 feet or more. This was designed by Hastin Deet-si Be-Ahd, 
and has been so popular that she has been kept weaving on similar 
blankets ever since to meet the demand. 

Similarly Fig. 233, while occasionally found in the standard class. 
Is regularly made up In a variety of sizes from about 48x72 inches up to 
6x8 feet in extra qualities, either in native wools, undyed, or in standard 
colors. 

Fig. 234 is an extra grade, designed and woven by Yeh-del-spah Bi- 
mah, size 64x85 Inches. The body color is gray, with a panel of red 
all around, in which the designs are worked out in white and black, while 
the inner panel is in white, red, and black. 




Fill. 207. 

Navaho Weaver. Showing " Bungling " in Weave on 

Left-Hand Side. [I'M-.r. 145I 





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CLASSIFICATION OF MODERN BLANKETS 155 

Equally original is Fig. 235, designed and made by BIt-se Bi-Ghay 
Bit-Se, size 64x84 inches, with a body mainly of red. The black and 
white, or deep blue and white, make striking and effective contrasts. 

Figs. 234 and 235 can both be made to order, in any color and size, 
from 45x76 inches up to 6x9 feet. 

To those who enjoy the full flood of "sunshine red" Fig. 236 will 
especially appeal. It was designed and made by Toh-dichin-e Bi-Ahd, 
and is 64x98 inches in size. The red picked out in light gray, with the 
inner panel in white, with design in black, or deep blue, with slight dashes 
of red, make striking contrasts, and one must know definitely where such 
a colored blanket will "fit" or it will strike a discordant note. But on a 
light wood floor, with no other deep color note to conflict with it, such a 
blanket would light up and warm a room with a glow such as covers the 
earth at sunset. The weaver who made this is ready to make others 
similar to this, in the same or different colors and of sizes varying from 
45x76 inches up to 6x9 feet. 

V. Native Wool, Fancy 

There is, however, another fine and distinctive grade, known as 
Native wool. Fancy blankets. It used to be well known In the trade and 
included all the very fine native wool blankets as differentiated from those 
made of Germantown yarn. 

The same tests are put to this type as to the "extra" qualities, only 
carried to a still finer point. Such blankets are exceedingly desirable and 
when found fully justify the words of Father Berard, elsewhere quoted, 
to the effect that the Navahos of today are making just as fine blankets 
as they have ever done. 

Some of the finest of these blankets are made by men, more to show 
what they can do, perhaps, than for sale purposes. Several of those I 
have secured have been of this class, and, tell it not in Gath! others were 
woven by maidens for the young men of their choice, to use as saddle- 
blankets, and were disposed of when the flames of affection had burned 
low, or some other flame had taken the place of the "light that had 
failed," or gone out. Practically all of these are single size saddle- 
blankets, viz., 15x24, 21x24, and 17x22 inches, thus demonstrating how 
individualistic is the taste in size, as well as design and color, of the 
weavers even in those blankets that are to be used for a common purpose. 

Fig. 237 is of the choicest specimen of this type in my own collection. 
It is 21x25 inches in size, and is used as a table-cover. The panels of 
small lozenges or diamonds are daintily done. The main color is red, 
while different colors are used in the fourfold portions of which the 
diamonds are composed. 



156 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Fig. 238 is of almost as fine yarn, spinning, and design. It is 15x24 
inches in size, of closely spun red, with unusual figures combined with those 
that are more common. The fringe and tassels at the ends are extra 
elaborate. Well do I remember the place and occasion on which I pur- 
chased this. I had been to little visited portions of the reservation, around 
the dreaded Navaho Mountain, where renegades of several races and 
tribes are said to congregate, and where some wonderful cliff dwellings 
are found, and was now crossing, on horseback, alone, to Shiprock, on 
the northeastern border of the reservation. My mount was not of the 
best, and could not be urged beyond a limited speed, the roads were some- 
what uncertain, and late afternoon found me at the Cornfields, where sev- 
eral families had built their hogans, in the midst of a fairly large area of 
cultivated land. I had no blankets or bedding of any kind, but the hos- 
pitality of a rude hogan was preferable to nothing. The nights were 
exceedingly cold and frosty, so I intimated that I should be glad to remain. 
There were families of two generations, with grandpa and grandma, to 
occupy the hogan, and only enough blankets to go around. But I was 
supplied with a sheepskin to lie on, and with my overcoat wrapped around 
me and a small saddle-blanket I endeavored to be content. We were 
stretched out with feet towards the fire, but I kept up a fairly constant 
roll all night, warming first one side and then the other, as the temperature 
declined. The roof of the hogan was partially open, though a blanket 
was hung over the doorway. During the night the head of the family 
did a most gracious thing. He arose and took down this doorway blanket, 
and, assuming that I was asleep, carefully and gently spread it over me, 
tucking it around me so that I might secure its full benefit. That blanket 
secured me several hours' extra sleep, for in its warmth I was able to defy 
the cold. Early the next morning his son brought me the blanket pictured 
(Fig. 238), and, as they would take no money for my "lodging," I was 
glad to purchase and pay extra well for this dainty little piece of weaving. 

Fig. 239 is of a less fine and striking quality of weave, yet one which 
would properly come within this class. It was made by a Navaho maiden 
for her lover, who for some reason or other jilted her, and then was 
willing to sell me the blanket. 

Fig. 240 is a native wool, fancy blanket in the Matthews collection. 
When secured by Dr. Matthews it was being worn by a woman. Its size 
is 5 feet 4 inches by 3 feet 7 inches, and its colors are yellow, green, dark 
blue, gray, and red, all but the latter color being in native yarn. 

Fig. 241 is one of the best representatives of the earlier type of native 
wool dyed blankets made by the Navahos prior to the deterioration of the 
art. It is in the American Museum of Natural History. The body of 
the blanket is red, and the wool used is of several different dyes, which is 




Fir,. 210. 

A Closely Woven Blanket. Practically 
Waterproof. 

( .\Iattliews Collfcti.iii.) 




Fig. 211. 
Good for Rough Use. 

( Matthfws Colk-cliuii. ) 




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CLASSIFICATION OF MODERN BLANKETS 157 

evident from the variations of tone to which time has softened the original 
color. The general effect is a delicious soft old rose. The three inner 
diamonds of each design are all in blacic, followed by a fourth in white, 
which produces a bold and striking, yet pleasing effect. The zigzags, top 
and bottom, are In white and black. 

Fig. 196 is a typical specimen of a first-class native wool fancy 
blanket, modern in weave throughout, but of old design. The body of the 
blanket is gray, the center diamonds are of red outlined in brown, white, 
and black. The stepped figures surrounding the center diamonds are in 
black and white, while the conventional stepped diamonds of the center 
are outlined in black, brown, and white. The border is of white, sur- 
rounded with black. Blankets as good as this are often woven by Fred 
Harvey's best weavers. 

VI. Germantowns 

These, as the name implies, are Navaho blankets made throughout 
of Germantown yarn. In the chapter on the development of the art I 
have already referred to the introduction of Germantown yarn, and how, 
for a time, it led to the deterioration of blanketry. "Haste to get returns" 
became the cry of both Navaho weaver and trader, regardless of quality 
and durability. The weaver was glad to get rid of the trouble of clean- 
ing, carding, washing, dyeing, and spinning the yarn, when she could 
secure it from the trader all ready to be woven. And so cotton-warp, 
Germantown-woof blankets for a time had a great run. Then, as sud- 
denly as the trade had grown, there came a slump, and trader and weaver 
meaningly asked: "Why?" The answer was not far to seek in the 
angry cry of purchasers, dinged into the ears of blanket sellers, and by 
them echoed to the traders : " We thought we were buying good blankets. 
We find we have almost thrown our money away." This speedily led to a 
change, and today only the smallest and lightest " Germantowns" are 
made with a cotton warp, while all the larger ones handled by reputable 
dealers have wool warps, and are woven both with care and skill. 

Fig. 193 is of a very fine blanket of this type which I purchased over 
twelve years ago. It has been in constant and rough use ever since. While 
it has a cotton warp, it is an extra strong one, and is so carefully woven 
that it is in good condition. The body of the blanket is in red, the lozenge 
figure in the center in white, blue, white, and maroon, with the very deli- 
cate outline in white. The upper and lower diamonds, with the serrated 
edges, or really outlines, are in red, with a blue border inside and a maroon 
border outside the dainty serrated line, which is in white. From top to 
bottom on each side are two rows of alkidol'ezli, or triangles placed one 



158 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

above another, touching. The outer rows are in green, while the inner 
rows are in orange brown. These latter scarcely show in the reproduction. 

Fig. 132 is of a Germantown yarn blanket which used to be in Dr. 
Matthews's private collection. He described it as follows: "This blanket 
measures 6 feet 9 inches by 5 feet 6 Inches, and weighs nearly six pounds. 
It is made entirely of Germantown yarn in seven strongly contrasting 
colors, and is the work of a man who is generally conceded to be the best 
weaver in the tribe. A month was spent in its manufacture. Its figures 
are mostly in serrated stripes, which are the most difficult to execute with 
regularity. I have heard that the man who wove this often draws his 
designs on sand before he begins to work them on the loom." 

This is the only case in which I have ever heard of a weaver making 
a design in the sand, or otherwise. In my many years of familiarity with 
the Navahos, and varied wanderings over the whole of their reservation, 
my constant inquiry has failed to find me one weaver who has ever 
followed this practice, or known of anyone doing so. 

Figs. 242 and 243 are of two single saddle-blankets made with 
Germantown yarn. Fig. 242 is fairly well woven and with a good color 
scheme. The design is familiar and frequently found, and lends itself 
to as varied a color harmony as there are bands. This comprises white, 
deep blue, cherry-red, salmon-pink, and deep green, and they are com- 
bined with a keen eye to color effect. The size is 171/^x23 inches, with 
fringes at both ends fully two inches long. 

Fig. 243 has a red body color, is 20x24 inches in size, and is com- 
pletely surrounded with a so-called Greek-key border, which Dr. Mat- 
thews claimed was exceedingly rare in the eighties of the past century. 
The key is in green, with an orange insert; the geometrical figures on each 
side are in black, yellow, and green; while those of the center row are in 
black, yellow, green, and gray. The blanket has a four-Inch fringe at 
each end, with double tassels at one corner of each end. 





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Fic. 216^ 

Made by Manuelito's Widow for the Author. 

[Pack 150] 



CHAPTER XIX 

Imitation Navaho Blankets 

'TpHERE is an impression abroad, quite widespread, that there are 
many so-called Navaho blankets which are machine-made. To those 
who are familiar with the subject this impression is absurd. He would 
be credulous, indeed, who, knowing a real Navaho blanket, could ever 
imagine one made on a machine. The thing is impossible. A so-called 
machine-made Navaho blanket can be discerned by the knowing a hun- 
dred feet away. And writers who ought to know better — or else they 
should not be allowed to publish what they write in high-class papers and 
magazines — often assert the most foolish things. For instance, in The 
Saturday Evening Post for June 25, 19 11, a contributor thus writes 
under the title, " Faking the Antiques." About some of the things of 
which the article speaks I am not competent to offer an opinion, but in 
regard to Navaho blankets I know whereof I speak, with the knowledge 
gained by thirty-two years of personal and intimate experience and study. 
He says: 

In the curio dealer of the western part of the United States the fellah who sells 
fake scarabs has no mean rival. Ninety per cent of the Indian moccasins, blankets, 
and baskets sold in western souvenir shops are the machine-made output of a thriv- 
ing factorj' that employs not only " squaws," who are nimble-fingered girls, but a 
dozen salesmen, who travel from Seattle to Key West, from Los Angeles to Bangor. 
Real Indian craftsmanship finds it so hard to compete that beading and blanket weav- 
ing of the old kind will soon be a lost art. In the very heart of the Indian country 
— at Flagstaff, Cheyenne, Albuquerque, and Bismarck — the curio stores are packed 
with Indian wares that no Indian ever touched. Even if you distrust the shops and 
decide to buy only from an Indian, you may be bitten. A crafty buck struts along the 
street in Albuquerque with a gorgeous blanket carelessly flung over his shoulders. 

" How much ? " you ask, fingering the thing with greedy digits. 

" Thirty dollars," he answers, with an appraising glance at your scarfpin, your 
shoes, and other indices of your prosperity. 

You pay. It is more than you expected ; but, at least, the blanket is genuine. 
Si.x months later you learn that your blanket was made in a factory and that your 
Indian warrior probably divided his gains with a white employer. 

In the main this charge is not in accordance with facts. It may 
be true that ninety per cent of the "Indian moccasins that are sold in 
western souvenir shops are the machine-made output of a thriving factory 
that employs 'squaws' who are nimble-fingered girls," but there is not 

159 



i6o INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

the slightest particle of truth in the statement that ninety per cent of the 
Indian blankets and baskets so sold are the product of anything but 
Indian fingers. I am personally familiar with every Indian trader on the 
Navaho Reservation; I know all the wholesale dealers in Indian blankets 
that are secured from the Navahos, and I personally know ninety per cent 
of the Indian curio dealers of the Southwest and all those of Los Angeles, 
Flagstaff, and Albuquerque. Of Cheyenne and Bismarck I am unable to 
speak. I venture the assertion that it is not possible to find in all the 
stores in all the centers I have named one basket, professedly made by an 
Indian, which is made by a white person, and the same can be said of the 
blankets. But it must be remembered that some blankets are sold as 
Indian blankets which are made by Mexicans, and it requires knowledge 
to differentiate between an Indian blanket and a Mexican blanket, though 
both are hand-made on primitive looms. 

As far as the purchase of the blanket from the back of an Indian is 
concerned, for which the author claims to have paid thirty dollars, the 
deception in that case was self-deception or ignorance rather than any 
intent to deceive on the part of the Indian. Indians seldom, if ever, wear 
blankets of their own manufacture. They make no pretense of wearing 
them. Their blankets are too thick, rough, and stiff for use as personal 
wraps. They are fit only for rugs, portieres, or buggy robes. 

I have just returned from a prolonged trip to the Navaho Reserva- 
tion, and it was a daily occurrence when I was in the stores of the Indian 
traders to see Navaho weavers bring their blankets and sell them for 
amounts varying from ten to sixty dollars, part of the proceeds of which 
they immediately invested in the purchase of a machine-made blanket. 
This latter style of blanket, while it possesses Indian designs and is made 
in striking colors, is no more intended to be an imitation of the Indian 
blanket than a chromo is intended to be a deceptive imitation of a painting 
by Raphael or Corot, and he is a self-conceited ignoramus who could 
possibly be deceived by such a blanket. 

The fact of the matter is that when the Navaho found she could sell 
her blanket for enough to purchase a dozen American blankets she 
promptly did so, for the reason before stated, viz., that most of her own 
blankets are too stiff to give warmth and comfort when wrapped around 
her. A good three-dollar comforter is worth half a dozen fifty-dollar 
blankets as far as comfort when lying down and sleeping is concerned. 
The closely-woven Navaho will shed the rain and keep out the wind, and 
the thick, fuzzy type is good as a mattress, but none familiar with Navaho 
blankets ever buys them for bed-covers or wraps. As soon as this fact 
dawned clearly upon Messrs. Hubbell and Cotton, and the C. H. Algert 
Company they immediately began to negotiate with the blanket weavers 




Fic. 217. 
Standard Blanket. 

(Courtesy ..f J. A. .M.il.,h.,ii \ fo.l 
Wovi-n liy IIl lucii Al pi lie uny l-'li sni 



[I'AGI-: 150] 



IMITATION NAVAHO BLANKETS i6i 

of the East and Northwest for the manufacture of blankets, especially 
designed for the Navaho trade, containing those designs and colors which 
they knew would be pleasing to their Indian customers. They themselves 
provided the designs — these men, be it especially noted and remembered, 
whose greatest income is from the sale of gentiuie Navaho blankets, and 
whose business would suffer materially if the notion ever became broad- 
cast that the real Navaho could be successfully imitated. They now pur- 
chase these blankets by the carload, and there is not a trader on or off the 
whole reservation who does not carry a quantity of them in stock; but the 
idea has never entered their minds that anyone could purchase them for 
genuine Navaho blankets. No man has a right to slander and vilify an 
honorable body of business men, nor is he justified in awakening the 
suspicions of the purchasing public in regard to a staple article of goods 
about which only those who have had no opportunity to be informed can 
be imposed upon. Such is my confidence in the reliable blanket dealers of 
the Southwest that I will undertake to buy back at the full price, with 
interest, every blanket purchased from a dealer of repute in his own com- 
munity who knows Indian goods, and who has knowingly and wilfully 
deceived an ignorant purchaser into buying a machine-made blanket. 

On this subject even so careful an authority as General U. S. Hollis- 
ter, in his Tlie Navaho and His Blanket, gives out misleading ideas. He 
says (the italics are mine) : 

It is frequently said that many of the so-called Navaho blankets are now made 
in eastern factories, but this is not true to any great extent. Some garish things //; 
attempts at Navaho designs are so made, but the likeness is too poor to be called even 
an imitation ; and no dealer with the slightest sense of honor would offer one of the 
horrid things as a Navaho blanket. Tourists have only themselves to blame if they are 
sometimes thus deceived. 

The error and unconscious mischief of this statement is its implica- 
tion that to some extent so-called Navaho blankets are made. They are 
not made to any extent. There is not one that for a moment can 
deceive anyone reasonably familiar with the hand-woven Navaho product. 
That tourists sometimes have themselves to blame for their own deception 
is true, as General Hollister thus remarks, though, as a rule, the only 
blankets used by the Navahos today are those especially woven for them. 

The Navahos often prefer to wear blankets made in the East, for 
two reasons: one is that they are lighter; and the other, that they can 
sell a good blanket of their own make for a sum sufficient to purchase a 
" Mackinaw." Not long ago a lady visitor saw one of these Mackinaw- 
blankets on the back of a Navaho buck at Gallup, New Mexico. She 
immediately began negotiations, and finally got the blanket for about 
three times what it cost "poor Lo," and went away rejoicing, believing 



i62 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

she had a genuine Navaho blanket. Why? Because she had bought it 
from a Navaho Indian! Incidents of this kind having been repeated 
frequently have, no doubt, given rise to the story and belief that a large 
proportion of what are said to be Navaho blankets are not made by the 
Navahos, but are the products of eastern looms. Nothing, however, can 
be further from the truth. A visit to the establishments of all the Indian 
traders in or about the Navaho reservation, or to those in any of the cities 
of the East or West in which Navaho blankets are offered for sale, will 
fail to find a single blanket represented as of Navaho origin that was not 
made by the Navahos themselves or in similar style on primitive looms by 
imitative Mexicans. 

There is another reason, however, which ought forever to satisfy 
the intelligent reader that Navaho blankets can never be imitated. As 
is shown in nearly all of the colored plates in this book, the colors of a 
certain line of weave are not alike all the way across the blanket. There 
may be two, or three, six, a dozen, even twenty colors on one line or row 
of cross weave. And the colors are alike on both sides. This is possible 
only in hand work, where a weaver may take her color as far as she 
chooses, and then substitute another. The following letter quoted by 
General Hollister explains the limitations of machine-weaving and satis- 
factorily demonstrates that it can never successfully imitate the hand- 
weaving of any people: 

Pendleton Woolen Mills 
Fleece JVool Blankets, Indian Robes and Shawls 

Pendleton, Oregon, June 23, 1902. 

Dear Sir — We have j'our letter of the 17th and also the sample of the Navaho. 
We note what you say about blanket people saying this has never been successfully 
imitated. It is for a good reason. It is impossible with any machine yet made to get 
this effect. On our looms there are but two shuttle boxes on a side. Running a 
different shuttle in each box only allows for four colors at a time. In this robe a 
certain color appears and then is cut out. On a machine when a color once starts 
across the beam, it must be carried clear to the other side, either on one side or the 
other. If you lose it from the upper side, it must appear somewhere on the bottom. 
It is necessary for it to go clear across to be able to return. In weaving by hand, one 
can simply take the shuttle out any place desired and lay it aside until wanted again, 
covering the end between the filling threads and warp. 

We can get this diamond pattern, however, if you think it would do, but cannot 
get the effect nor the weave as it appears in this robe. The Racine people are making 
a shawl something after this pattern, but can use only a limited number of colors, for 
the reasons explained above. 

We could do this. We could get something like this pattern and then work with 
two colors for a certain width, and then change to two others, giving a striped effect. 
For instance, we could work with black and yellow, the diamond pattern appearing 




Fig. .mS. 
" Extra " Blanket of Good Design. 

(foiirti-sy of till' C. C. Maiiniiit; <<.. I 

Occasionally fouiul in " S(aiular«l " qvialily. 

Woven bv MchU to llc-day zliic. 



[I'AGE 151] 



IMITATION NAVAHO BLANKETS 163 

in yellow and the background in black, and then change to green and red, for a cer- 
tain width, and so on. This, however, would not produce the effect you are after. 

On this kind of a proposition we can quickly tell you we cannot do anything 
except go ahead and try to get up something that is impossible. If you think a robe 
something like we have described would sell, let us know and we can get out some, 
but they will be far, far from the Navaho effect. 

Yours very truly, 
Pendleton Woolen Mills. 

Further, to confirm my assertions, I again quote General Hollister, 
and assure the reader that this Is the universal testimony of all who 
know: 

I have traveled extensively throughout our Southwestern countr\', and have 
examined the stocks of nearly every Indian trader and dealer in Navaho fabrics; and 
in no instance has a spurious blanket or rug been offered me as of Navaho make. I 
have not always agreed with the dealers' statements regarding the age, composition, 
or coloring of their blankets, but I am, however, pretty well satisfied that in the main 
they are sincere in their representations, and place their goods before their customers 
with the best knowledge they possess. Some of them have been so long in the business 
that they are authorities upon the subject. 



CHAPTER XX 

Pueblo Indian J J' cavers 

"ITrE have already seen that the art of weaving was known to the 
' ' Pueblo Indians long prior to the coming of the Spaniards into New 
Mexico (and Arizona) in 1540. They were also growers and weavers 
of cotton. In the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, 
is a fine specimen of cotton weaving taken from a prehistoric cliff-dwell- 
ing. It is from a cotton blanket that was originally about three by five 
feet in size. It is in colors and the designs are similar to those found on 
the pottery of an earlier or contemporaneous period. 

In spite of the oft-made assertion that "the Pueblos appear to have 
soon discarded the spinning of cotton for the easier spinning of wool," 
there is plenty of evidence that they have never discontinued cotton- 
weaving, and they still ( 1914) make many of their garments of this mate- 
rial. Every wedding dress of a Hopi maiden is of cotton, and I have half 
a dozen or more ceremonial costumes of cotton, embroidered with wool 
of different colors in striking designs. Fig. 34 is of a rare old Hopi 
woman's blanket, with a white cotton body and a border of deep blue 
with stripes of white cotton and red bayeta. Blankets of this type are 
very rare and seldom found, even in the best collections. The cotton 
weave is of twilled design and is a beautiful specimen of artistic work, 
while the border is in two panels, the wider of which is crossed with 
double diamonds. On the inner edge of this panel are a row of triangular 
figures placed one upon another. The white of the cotto,n has taken on a 
rich creamy hue, which gives the blanket as a whole a very pleasing effect. 

In practically all of the various pueblos of the Rio Grande, of New 
Mexico and Arizona, one or more weavers can be found who make 
blankets that cannot be distinguished from those of the Navaho. At the 
Hopi House, near El Tovar, at the Grand Canyon, Fred Harvey gener- 
ally has a Hopi weaving Navaho blankets. Mrs. Matilda Coxe Steven- 
son, whose colossal work on the Zunis occupies the whole six hundred 
pages, with scores of additional plates, of the Tiventy-third Annual Report 
of the Bureau of American Ethnology, states that: 

in 1 88 1 a young boy about twelve years of age became jealous over the writer's admira- 
tion for the blankets of the Navaho and determined to see what he could do. Going 
to work with no design before him, he produced a saddle-blanket of exceptional beauty. 

164 




Fll,. JMI. 

Standard Blanket. 

(Courtesy ni the C". </. Mamiiiiii Co.) 
Grav basf, with ilt-sigii in rf<l. uliilt-. and black. 



[Vm.k 151] 



PUEBLO INDIAN WEAVERS 165 

The elaborate figures were woven in various colors on a red ground. In 1902 a Zuni 
priest presented the writer with a blanket of his own weaving, which, though not fine, 
was elaborate in design and color. It was made in order to show the writer that the 
Zunis possess the art of weaving blankets in the Navaho style even though they do not 
practice it. They prefer to purchase blankets of the more elaborate kind from the 
Navahos and give their time to other things. 

During the past twenty years since activ'e and open hostilities between 
the Navahos and Pueblos have terminated there has been a commingling 
which has somewhat disturbed the old and rigid lines of racial or tribal 
divergence. This has manifested itself in weaving as in many other ways. 
For instance, time was when one familiar with the different tribes could 
immediately point out a Navaho-woven blanket from that of a Hopi, 
Zuni, or Acoma, etc. But that day has gone by. A Navaho woman weaver 
may be found making a dress in the Hopi weave, or a Hopi man weaving 
a Navaho blanket. In my collection I have a squaw-dress which was 
woven by a Zuni man, but it has none of the characteristics of the twilled 
or diamond weaving so often found in Pueblo squaw-dress weaving. 
Indeed, it is a simple Navaho weave throughout. It is woven broad side 
on. The two plain striped portions are in black and dark gray. The 
center design is in red, with the crosses in orange, with a smaller cross 
inside each in black. The upper and lower stripes are in red, with the 
"square-eyed" design in red, purple, and orange. 

Fig. 244 is of a Hopi weaver at Sichomovi, on the first mesa. It 
will be observed that, in the main, this loom is exactly the same as that of 
the Navaho weavers, though the weaver is a man. Here, too, is another 
evidence of individuality in weaving methods. This man, having woven 
the diagonal portion of the squaw-dress at one end, turned the loom over 
so that he could complete the diagonal weaving of the other end before 
he began the plain or simple weave of the center of the dress. 

That this method, however, is not uncommon is shown by Fig. 245, 
which depicts a Hopi man weaver at the most western of the Hopi 
pueblos, Oraibi. 

One of the most interesting of sights is to see a Hopi weaving a 
white cotton garment, full blanket size, from cotton of his own growing, 
cleaning, carding, and spinning. This is generally done in the sanctity of 
tlie kiv^, or secret underground ceremonial chamber, because the dress, 
when completed, is to be worn by his bride at the wedding ceremony. 
Such a blanket has no color to it whatever, but is adorned with carefully 
made and most elaborate cords and tassels at each corner. A reed case is 
also made for carrying it. 

For dance and other ceremonial purposes, however, cotton dresses 
of this type are beautifully embroidered in black, green, and red, similar to 



1 66 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

the kilt shown in Fig. 246. The Hopis are great adepts in this kind of 
work. 

Fig. 247 shows a member of the Antelope clan at Oraibi weaving a 
ceremonial sash or kilt, which he is to wear at the forthcoming Snake 
Dance, in the manner shown in Fig. 248. This dance is fully described 
in my hidians of the Painted Desert Region and is one of the most remark- 
able and astounding religious rites of the pagan world. The sash is shown 
in Fig. 246, with one of the Pueblo and Navaho belts worn around the 
waists of the women. 




FiC. 220. 

Standard Quality Blanket, Good Design and Color. 

(Aulli.ir's l.ullccli.111.) 




Fig. jji. 
Standard Blanket, Saddle Size. 

(M.lttlirws C.ilU-ttnai.l 




Fk.. 22-'. 

Standard Blanket. 

(MattlKWS l',-llcCti.ill.) 



CHAPTER XXI 

The Chimayo Blanket 

TTrHILE the aborigine of North America was famihar with the art 
' ^ of weaving prior to the coming of the Spaniards, it was much modi- 
fied and improved after his advent. The Navaho brought a rude loom 
and rude methods of work with him. Here he found the Pueblo Indian 
and from him learned much. Then, when the Spaniard came, both Pueblo 
and Navaho had sheep added to their possessions, the wool from which 
practically changed the future of the art of weaving as far as they were 
concerned. 

The Spaniards and Mexicans also brought with them their weaving 
arts. Many of their numbers were able to weave blankets and the finer 
scrapes. Hence, side by side, three different types of blanket-weaving 
were carried on. These were, first, that of the Pueblos; second, that of 
the Navahos, and, third, that of the Mexicans. Almost every Mexican 
settlement had its weavers in the early days of their occupation of what 
is now United States territory, but here and there the art declined and 
finally disappeared, while in other settlements but one or two families 
preserved their looms and continued to use them. One settlement, 
Chimayo, however, kept up its weaving, and has so persistently continued 
in its practice that Chimayo blankets have become known all over the 
civilized world, and its older and better types are highly prized by col- 
lectors. The Mexican settlements known as Chimayo are about thirty 
miles north of Santa Fe and ten or twelve miles from Espaiiola, a station 
on the narrow-gauge line of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, which 
runs from Santa Fe to Denver, changing at Alamosa, Colorado, from the 
narrow to the broad gauge. 

It was a sharp, clear, snappy afternoon in December, 191 2, when I 
walked from Espaiiola to Santa Cruz, two miles away, getting a "lift" 
in a friendly buggy as I crossed the bridge over the Rio de la Santa Cruz. 

Chimayo is not a town in the sense that Americans understand the 
term. It is the name given to ten or eleven little settlements, stretching 
out for six miles or more along the Santa Cruz River. The name implies 
"the meeting of the streams." Just above the uppermost settlement the 
Rio Cundiyo and the Rio Chiquito unite and form the Santa Cruz. The 
dwellers in the Chimayo settlements call it the Rio Chimayo until it reaches 

167 



1 68 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

the town of Santa Cruz, when they are then wilHng to call it the Rio de la 
Santa Cruz — a change rather confusing to the ordinary American not 
accustomed to the idiosyncrasies of the Mexican mind. The settlements 
that form Chimayo are known as follows, coming up the river from west 
to east — all are on the north side of the stream except La Piiebla to the 
west and Potrero to the east — Cuarteles, so called because a body of Mex- 
ican soldiers was once quartered there; La Pitebla; Plaza Abajo, the 
lower plaza; Los Ranchos; La Cuchilla, so-called because it is located on a 
small hill with a knife-like ridge; Plaza del Cerro, the plaza of the hill 
(this is commonly known as Chimayo on account of its possessing the post- 
office bearing that name); Rincon, the corner settlement; Potrero, "the 
opening" — into the canyon above; Los Ojuelos, the little springs; El 
Llano, the plain; and Rio Chiquito, the Little River. 

The locations of the Chimayo settlements were occupied by Indians 
long prior to the advent of the Spaniards and Mexicans. All the way up 
the banks of the stream there were small Indian rancherias or pueblos, 
and these people all called themselves Chimayo. It was in 17 14 that a few 
Spanish families came and settled along the river, and little by little the 
Indians disappeared, or were absorbed by marriage, until now there is not 
a single Indian family left. This also accounts for the Mexican names 
given to the different settlements. 

After spending the night in the parsonage of Santa Cruz, I hired a 
buggy to take me to Chimayo the next morning. The road for the major 
part of the distance is up the course of the Rio Santa Cruz, which at this 
time of the year spreads out into two, three, or more rapidly flowing 
creeks. The road was rocky in most places, sandy, and rough. We crossed 
the stream many times, the separate channels being lined with thick ice. 
In spring, when the ice thaws out, the road is muddy in places, as 
well as sandy and rocky; in summer, when the rains and cloudbursts come 
one cannot venture to guess where and what the road is, for they tell me 
there is no other way of going back and forth, and the stream spreads out 
until all roads are obliterated, and, at times, the river becomes a raging 
torrent, pouring down its flood with great rapidity to the Rio Grande. 
In the fall it is rocky, muddy, sandy, and rough; and winter, spring, sum- 
mer, and winter it is uniformly hard, uphill, and disagreeable, except to 
those who choose to take their daily exercise by being jolted, jarred, 
jounced, and jiggered from one side of the buggy or wagon to another, 
up and down, back and forth, and sometimes all directions in one grand 
bounce, which jerks the head half off the shoulders, and semi-dislocates 
the spine. 

But immediately on reaching Plaza del Cerro all memory of the 
discomforts suffered disappear. A drive of two hours and a half has 




c _ 

pa .2 






C: 







3 ^ 

Or 

•a ^ 

r*^ 'O ^ 

"1 c - 

"' ™ . 

•J M "' 



O - 
O 

^1 




H s 

3 5 
a ^ 




THE CHIMAYO BLANKET 169 

brought us to the settlement, snugly nestled along the foothills, beyond 
which snowy-clad peaks of the Rocky Mountains tower into the New 
Mexico sky. It is a straggling place, with streets that remind one of Sam 
Walter Foss's poem of the Boston "Calf Path," in their irresponsible 
and altogether unsuspected twinings and twistings. Here a large plaza is 
surrounded by well-built, thrifty-looking Mexican houses. Though built 
of adobe, and with flat roofs, most of them are whitewashed and attract- 
ive, and a few glimpses through open doors as we pass suggest what our 
later observation confirms, that here is no lazy, indifferent, drinking, 
gambling Mexican settlement, but the home of self-respecting, hard-work- 
ing, thriving, law-abiding men and women, who could well set an example 
to many far more pretentious towns and villages in our eastern states. 

On every hand are evidences of prosperity. Fruit orchards are found 
in all directions. Apples, peaches, plums, and cherries grow abundantly 
and of finest flavor, and a ready market is found for them in Santa Fe, 
Albuquerque, and other points on the Santa Fe Railway. The plaza itself 
is cut up into gardens belonging to those who dwell around it, and in 
spring and summer it supplies their tables with a varied and abundant 
supply of vegetables, while it charms the eye of residents and visitors 
alike with the riot of color of its fragrant flowers. 

During the fruit and vegetable season the people are fruit growers 
and agriculturists, but in winter, when the ground is frozen, they uncover 
their looms, and in three-fifths of the houses the bump of the batten and 
the jerk of the treadle may be heard as the busy weav-er plies her shuttle 
to and fro. 

Here everything is different from the methods followed by the 
Navaho. The loom, though rude and roughly built, is not unlike those 
which George Eliot described in Adam Bcdc, or which even now may be 
found in many of the older and quieter village communities of New Eng- 
land, New York, and Pennsylvania. 

The spinning wheel is different, however, in appearance from the 
old wheels which we find now and again in ancient houses, or exalted to 
places of honor in local museums, although, of course, the principle of 
working is practically the same. 

Being made by Mexicans, the older types of Chlmayo blankets were 
made In two parts, as are the serapes, sewed together down the middle. 
Of late years, however, as there has grown up a demand for Chlmayo 
work, the double, center-sewn blanket practically has been abandoned, and 
it is now made in one piece, complete. 

Figs. 249, 250 are representative Chimayos of the oldest and best 
types. The warp is of home-grown, home-cleaned, home-carded, homespun, 
natural white wool. Two threads are spun together to give the blankets 



I70 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

strength and body. The weaving is simple, as is also the design, while 
the colors are but white, black, and blue, the two former being the native 
colors of the wool, and the blue made by dyeing with Indigo. In some 
of the stripes that separate the black it will be observed that blue and 
white alternate. This alternation is caused by the weaver holding a shut- 
tle of blue in one hand, and one of white in the other, and throwing 
them simultaneously in opposite directions. 

Fig. 249 is of much the simpler form, though the colors in both 
blankets are the same, and only straight lines are used. Fig. 250, how- 
ever, is much better woven and a far more desirable blanket. It is of 
full size and weighs about seven pounds. The general effect of its 
simplicity in color and design, enhanced by a peculiar charm bestowed by 
age, gives it a dignity altogether foreign to the later and more pretentious 
work. 

Now and again a Chimayo weaver, embued with the love of colors 
apparently inherent in all Mexicans, wove a blanket with a wider gamut, 
and I was fortunate in securing a rare and beautiful specimen of this type 
especially woven for my friend, the Rev. G. Haelterman, the Catholic 
priest of Santa Cruz, in whose parish all the Chimayo settlements are, 
and to whose people he has continuously ministered for a score or more 
years. This blanket. Fig. 251, is 42x75 inches in size, though, as it is 
woven in two parts and sewn down the center, it is really two strips 21x75 
inches long. The basic color is white with the lines of the serrated dia- 
monds in a light red, dark brown, dark blue, rich maroon-chocolate, with 
touches of lemon-yellow. The blanket has been washed many times and 
some of the colors have slightly "run" into those of other lines, and this 
seems to have enhanced the color values instead of detracting from them. 

The blue dye of the old Chimayo blanket is indigo. This was 
brought from Mexico in lumps about the size of a walnut. A number of 
these lumps were placed in a small sack made of cheese-cloth or its equiva- 
lent, which was then thrown into a small earthenware bowl of urine. As 
soon as the indigo showed signs of disintegrating a larger bowl was put 
out of doors, on a fire, and the urine and indigo stirred now and again 
while it came to a boil. When all the coloring matter was thoroughly 
dissolved and the liquid boiled, the wool was immersed several times until 
the color was thoroughly absorbed. The yarn was then allowed to drain 
for a short time, after which it was hung out to dry. 

The yellow was gained from the same flower used by the Navahos. 

The red used was exactly as described in the chapter on the hayeta 
blanket. For the New Mexican trade it was generally purchased in 
" Brazil sticks." 

When attention was directed by experts to the fine weaving of the 




1-1... J.;. 
Extra Quality Native Wool. 

(I-red Harvey dilUftioii.) 



THE CHIMAYO BLANKET 171 

Navahos, and the traders sent collectors all through New Mexico to 
gather every old bayeta, native-wool and native-dyed blankets, they 
brought in quite a number of these Chimayo blankets. The collectors did 
not gain their history; they were simply informed they were not Navahos, 
but were made in New Mexico by Mexicans. The name was spelled, 
therefore, in Mexican or Spanish fashion, Chemallo, and it was not until 
a comparatively recent date that those outside of New Mexico began to 
learn the real story of the Chimayo settlements, as I have herein 
recounted it. 

The output of old Chimayos, while apparently large, was very small 
in the aggregate when such a population as that of the United States is 
considered. All told there never were more than a hundred weavers (so 
I am informed), and if each wove three blankets a winter — a large aver- 
age — that would be but three hundred a year. The ordinary life of an 
old Chimayo, receiving the rough usage the Mexicans give their blankets, 
was possibly not more than ten years; hence many of them have passed out 
of existence. Mexico also absorbed quite a number, for in spite of the 
fact that the Mexicans weave their own scrapes and blankets, the Chimayo 
weaves were much sought after. The result is there are, I suppose, not 
more than a score of good old Chimayos now offered for sale in the coun- 
try. The only dealers that I know who have a few fine and desirable speci- 
mens are Fred Harvey, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Burns 
Indian Trading Company, of Los Angeles. 

Fig. 252 is a fine, representative example in the Fred Harvey collec- 
tion. The colors are black, blue, and white, the only dye used being that 
of indigo for producing the blue. The black varies in color just as the 
black is found to vary on the backs of the sheep, and in one or two cases a 
little gray has been introduced instead of black, which gives a unique and 
pleasing variety. 

This blanket throughout is of native wool — not too closely woven 
— and the warp is of wool. The center design is of conventionalized 
diamonds, while the remaining part of the design is made up of diamonds, 
or lozenges of various sizes made of rectangular blocks or diamonds. 
The border, which is uniform in design throughout, is mainly black with a 
slight mixture of gray (before referred to) with blue and white figures 
interwoven throughout. 

Those who are familiar with the Mexican scrape inform me that this 
design is very often found in the Sallillo serape. Chimayos of this type 
are very desirable for portieres or couch-covers, where they do not get 
rough usage. 

Fig. 253 is of an old Chimayo in my own collection. It is 48x65 
Inches In size, and Is all wool, warp and woof, and as light a specimen as 



172 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

I have ever seen. It is soft and pliable and perfectly suited either for a 
bed-blanket or wrap. Its colors are white, Indigo-blue, and black, but the 
latter has softened until it is a rich brownish-black that gives a wonderfully 
beautiful effect to the blanket as a whole. 

At Chimayo, however, as among the Navahos, modern methods have 
entirely revolutionized the industry. A modern Chimayo blanket is still 
a distinctive creation, but it is no more like the old type than a common 
Standard Navaho is like a bayeta. It must be remembered, however, that 
the Chimayo weavers have never made as tightly-spun a yarn, or as closely- 
woven a blanket as did, and do, the Navahos. Their blankets are softer, 
more adapted for bed coverings, or for actually wrapping around the 
person. 

In nearly all modern Chimayos cotton warps are used instead of 
wool. These are easier to get, being purchasable at the nearest store; and, 
though not quite so easy to work, as they do not lend themselves to the 
strain of the shuttle as do the wool warps, they preserve the shape better. 
They are also cheaper, thus making the actual cost of the blanket less to 
the weaver. And, as in thousands of cases, the buyer knows no difference 
.between wool and cotton warps, and is willing to pay as much for the 
latter as for the former, the short-sighted weaver argues that it is to her 
advantage to use cotton. 

Little by little, however, the same check will be put upon cotton- 
warped Chimayo blankets as has been upon the Navaho, and the art will 
improve as the result. 

But not only do the modern Chimayo weavers use cotton warp. 
They have grown weary in well-doing, and no longer cut, clean, dye, card, 
and spin the wool themselves. It is so much easier to buy Germantown 
yarn all ready for the loom; hence most modern Chimayos are made of 
Germantown yarns woven on cotton warps. Most of them have solid 
body colors with small designs interspersed throughout. 

When I asked a keen-brained Mexican father of a family why native 
spinning and dyeing were abandoned, and cotton warps were used in 
place of the more satisfactory home-made wool-warps, he exclaimed: 
"Our girls do not want to work so hard as their mothers did. They 
would rather go to school and make a speech [recite] than card, spin, 
and dye wool. They no longer sahe how to make utole. If they pretend 
to make it they don't cook it enough, and it gives one indigestion to try to 
eat it." 

I replied that it was "Too bad!" and he added, with a melancholy 
air: "They should not forget the old things unless they learn something 
better." 

I could not help thinking how appropriate this was to all industries. 




Fig. 2_'.S. 
Native Wool, Brown Body. Blanket. 

(C,.iulf>y ot J, A. Mnlnl.nn \- ( .1. ) 
Ciivint.' latiu'i- n iinvel but jiU-.-isinu fttt-ct. 



IPaci; I5-'] 



THE CHIMAYO BLANKET 



/J 



It is a bad business to forget the old good ways, especially when there are 
substituted for them new and worse ways. 

For small pillow, cushion, and table covers cotton warps may answer 
every purpose, as the sizes demand so little weight, and the wear is so 
small that the cotton is equal to every strain. Some of the designs of these 
covers are exceedingly attractive, and they are worked out with artistic 
skill. Taste in color necessarily is a personal matter. What pleases one 
will not please another, and the Chimayo weavers are no exception to this 
universal rule. There are a few weavers, however, whose tastes seem 
more critical than those of others, and their work meets with the approval 
of those best qualified to judge. 

In order to meet the great demand for modern Chimayo blankets 
of this and the better class Mr. Burns, of the Burns Indian Trading Com- 
pany, of Los Angeles, personally visited Chimayo, bought several looms, 
and engaged the best weavers he could find to come to Los Angeles and 
there weave regularly for his growing trade. The looms were set up, 
and for the past two or more years have been steadily at work. While 
small covers with cotton warps are made, and a cheap grade of the larger 
blankets, the choicest weaves all have wool warps. Many of these are in 
almost solid colors, of reds, browns, blacks, grays, etc., with small designs 
in the center or at the ends in some relieving color or colors. 



CHAPTER XXII 

Cleaning the Navaho Blanket 

^ I ^O THE housewife it sometimes becomes a serious matter how to direct 

the cleaning of blankets that she knows are valuable and highly 
prized without injuring them. 

The Navahos themselves have two methods of cleaning them. One 
is to take the soiled blanket out into the sand of the cornfield, and then 
shovel damp sand upon it and allow it to remain buried for a day or so 
(see Fig. 254). It is then well scrubbed with the sand, thoroughly beaten 
and shaken and allowed to fully dry and air in the sun. 

Where a more thorough cleansing is required the saponaceous roots 
of the amole are taken, macerated into shredded fibre, beaten up and down 
in a bowl of water until a rich lather is produced. With this suds and a 
rude brush made of shredded cedar bark the blanket is soaked and scrubbed 
on both sides, after which it is rinsed with as much water as these desert- 
dwellers can spare. If the colors are not well-mordanted this process 
naturally makes them "run" and commingle, and this often spoils a 
blanket, but where the colors are fast, or the wool of the blanket is the 
native white, black, gray, or brown, no injury can result, and there is no 
soap known to modern civilization that equals this natural soap used for 
so long by these Bedouins of the Painted Desert. 

The Mexicans use the same amole root for the purpose of cleaning 
their brilliantly-colored scrapes and the Chimayo blankets of their own 
weave. 

Of course, since the modern vacuum cleaner has come into use it 
will solve the problem for all but extreme cases, and, perhaps, in such 
cases, the unaware would better consult an expert before running any 
risks. 



174 




Fic. 2J0. 
" Extra " Blanket in Gray, White, and Black. 

(Courtesy of J. A. M.jlohun & Co.) 



APPENDIX 

I 

The Navaho Indian 

f~\ F ALL the North American Indian tribes none is more interesting 
^-■^ than the Navaho. Occupying a reservation in the northeastern cor- 
ner of Arizona and the northwestern corner of New Mexico — the largest 
Indian reservation in the United States, with an area of 12,360,723 acres, 
or about 19,313 square miles, larger than the states of New Hampshire, 
Vermont and Rhode Island combined — the Navaho tribe is rapidly on 
the increase. 

While the Navaho are supposed to remain on their reservation, they 
pay little attention to suppositional requirements. They occupy, in addi- 
tion to their reservation, about 2,304,000 acres, or 3,600 square miles, of 
Government and railway land, together with a large portion of the Hopi 
Indian Reservation. It is said that fully 2,000 Navahos are now living 
on the lands of the Hopi. I suppose it is owing to the rapid increase in 
the number of these people, their industrious trading, farming, and sheep- 
herding occupations, and their peaceable character that they are accorded 
these freedoms. The Hopis do not seem to need all their land, and little 
or no objection is made to the presence of the Navahos, and the white 
people are so eager and anxious for the trade of a thrifty, prosperous, and 
wealth acquiring race that they welcome, rather than object to, their 
presence and bartering proximity. 

Yet it must not be thought that the Navaho is a weak, subservient, 
dependent Indian. Even in his trading he is bold, independent, self- 
reliant, and self-assertive. The most skilful traders on the reservation 
assure me that they are as alert as the most wide-awake white men, and 
that the wits of the latter are often taxed to the utmost to keep pace with 
them. The major portion are honest and reasonably truthful, but they 
are ready and quick to seize every advantage, and are unscrupulous in 
dealing with a too-confident, boastful, or ignorant white. 

It can scarcely be said of them that they are — what Inspector James 
McLaughlin, in his admirable My Friend the Indian, terms the Utes — 
"unwhipped." From time immemorial they are said to have warred upon 
the Pueblo Indians, and, after the Spaniards settled in New Mexico, upon 
these invaders also. It was not so much enmity or hostility as "benevolent 
assimilation" that was the motive of these wars. The industrious and 

175 



176 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

home-loving Pueblos and Mexicans accumulated possessions that the 
Navahos envied and coveted. The next step was to seize, and, as they 
were numerous, crafty, and reasonably brave, they generally managed, 
either by stealth, craft, or force, to obtain what they wanted. Many a 
story is told of fights with the Navahos by the Mexicans prior to the 
seizure of New Mexico by Kearny, August 15, 1846. Some of these form 
thrilling chapters in the boolcs of Charles F. Lummis — stories told to him 
by his Spanish friends, the Bacas, Chaves', Hubbells, and others of early 
New Mexican days. 

Major Emory, who accompanied Colonel Kearny, thus writes of Las 
Vegas, N. M., and the attacks made upon it by the Navahos: 

The village, at a short distance, looked like an extensive brick-kiln. Approaching, 
its outline presented a square with some arrangements for defense. Into this square 
the inhabitants are sometimes compelled to retreat, with all their stock, to avoid the 
attacks of the Utavvs (Utes) and Navahos, who pounce upon them and carry off 
their women, children, and cattle. Only a few days since, they made a descent on 
the town and carried off 120 sheep and other stock. As Captain Cooke passed 
through the town ten days since, a murder had just been committed on these helpless 
people. 

And September 30, 1846, looking out over the mountainous country 
northwest of Santa Fe, he wrote: 

I saw here the hiding places of the Navahos, who, when few in number, wait 
for the night to descend upon the valley and carry off the fruit, sheep, women, and 
children of the Mexicans. When in numbers, they come in daytime and levy their 
dues. Their retreats and caverns are at a distance to the west, in high and inacces- 
sible mountains, where troops of the United States will find great difficulty in over- 
taking and subduing them, but where the Mexicans have never thought of penetrating. 
The Navahos may be termed the lords of New Mexico. Few in number, disdaining 
the cultivation of the soil, and even the rearing of cattle, they draw all their supplies 
from the valley of the Del Norte. 

This was the common reputation of the Navahos when the Americans 
first began to come in contact with them. The Mexicans and the Indian 
tribes dreaded them as a hostile, thieving, quarrelsome, yet brave and 
daring, people. They were in constant fear, and tried again and again to 
make treaties with them, which were no sooner made than they were 
broken. 

The United States Government, through its officials in the field, 
started in on the same plan. Rumors were current that the Navahos 
had a great and impregnable fortress in the heart of their country; they 
were reputed warlike and treacherous, and the better and wiser plan 
seemed to be to conciliate, rather than provoke them to declared hostility. 

When Colonel Kearny left Santa Fe for California he placed the 
responsibility of the government of New Mexico upon the shoulders of 




I'll.. J.W. 
" Extra " Native Wool Undyed Blanket of Striking Design. 

(Ci.nrlfsy i.f J. A. Mololioi, & l ., ) 
Tills wi-nviT lU'Vir iJu|ilicaU- lar hl.iiikcl^. [I'lGE 151] 



THE NAVAHO INDIAN 177 

Colonel Alex. W. Doniphan, of the First Missouri Volunteers. But he 
had not been gone long before he sent Doniphan a special order to organ- 
ize and conduct a campaign against the Navahos, who had been raiding 
the valley in the neighborhod of Polvodera. Doniphan immeiiiately left, 
placing Colonel Price in command at Santa Fe, and finally, at Ojo del Oso 
(Bear Spring), after a campaign of six weeks, a treaty of peace was 
concluded. \ 

A remarkable speech was made at this treaty which has been pre- 
served. In his negotiations Doniphan outlined the policy of the United 
States in New Mexico, and he was then replied to by Sarcilla Largo, a 
young, bright, and aggressive Navaho, as follows: 

Americans ! You have a strange case of war against the Navahos. We have 
waged war against the New Mexicans for many years. We have plundered their 
villages, killed many of their people, and have taken many prisoners. Our cause was 
just. You have lately commenced a war against the same people. You are powerful. 
You have great guns and many brave soldiers. You have therefore conquered them, 
the very thing that we have been attempting to do for many years. You now turn 
upon us for attempting to do what you have done yourselves. We cannot see why 
you have cause to quarrel with us for fighting the New Mexicans on the west, while 
you do the same thing on the east. Look how matters stand! This is our war. 
We have more right to complain of you for interfering in our war than you have to 
quarrel with us for continuing a war we had begun long before you got here. If you 
will act justly you will allow us to settle our own differences. 

It was left for " Kit" Carson, who served in New Mexico in 1862-6, 
under General James H. Carleton, completely to break the warlike and 
treaty-breaking spirit of the Navaho. James F. Meline, in his T'juo 
Thousand Miles on Horseback, thus tells part of the story: 

Soon after General Carleton assumed command in New Mexico, an eminently 
respectable deputation of eighteen Navaho chiefs, with keen perspective of indefinite 
presents, called upon him to know if he would make a treatj'. The general is from 
the state of New Hampshire and characteristically answered their question with 
another question: "What do you want of a treaty?" "That we may hereafter have 
peace." "Well, then," was the unexpected reply, "go home, stay there, attend to 
your own affairs, commit no more robberies or murders upon this people, and you 
have peace at once, without the trouble of a treaty." Treaties, the general informed 
them, appeared to confuse matters and involved the double labor to the Navahos of 
making and breaking them. They, the Navahos, well knew they never kept them, and 
he, the general, was not a child to be beguiled by them. " Now," he continued, "go; 
and if you rob or murder any of this people, so surely as the sun rises, you shall have 
a war that you may not soon forget." Navaho, discomfited, said he had never been 
treated that way before. Refused a treaty! Was such a tiling ever heard of? They 
were good Indians though. They would return to their country and trj- to persuade 
their young men to behave. The result was that in a few weeks the robbery and 
murder of Mexicans began again. Then came a Navaho message that a large number 
of them were peaceably disposed. This was in the spring of 1863. General Carleton 



178 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

sent them word that, as they all lived together, he could not distinguish friends from 
foes; that those who claimed to be friendly should come out from among the others 
and go to the Bosque Redondo, a large and beautiful tract of land forty miles square, 
with six thousand acres of arable land, on the Pecos river, where they should be cared 
for and allowed to want for nothing. Indian reply was not polite, but it was per- 
fectly intelligible. Not a Navaho would come. Another message from the General 
that they had better consider the matter more maturely. They might have until the 
20th of Julv with the door of peace left wide open. Once closed, it should never be 
opened again. But the Navahos said they had heard "Big Talk" before that meant 
nothing ; had listened j'ears to the cry of " Wolf " that came not. And they scouted 
the soldier's warning. True to his promise, the war opened on the very day set by 
General Carleton, July 20, 1863. A regiment of New Mexicans, with more than a 
century of accumulated wrong and oppression to avenge, were at once placed under 
the command of a man who understood his Indian well — Kit Carson. These troops 
knew neither summer rest nor winter quarters, but pursued the Indian foe relentlessly, , 
month after month, night and day, over mesas and deserts and rivers, under broiling 
suns and the rough winter snows, killing and capturing them in their chosen retreats, 
until finally, broken and dispirited under a chastisement the like of which they had 
never dreamed of, small bands began to come in voluntarily ; then larger ones, and 
finally groups of fifties and hundreds, nearly comprising the strength of the tribe. 
The prisoners as fast as received were dispatched to the Bosque Redondo and those 
who remained in arms sent out white flags in vain. 

One feature of Carson's method of warfare Mr. Meline does not 
comment upon, yet it reveals more than anything else Carson's keen insight 
into Indian character. Instead of arguing pow-wovving or threatening, 
Carson acted. 

From General Carleton's report, as quoted by Twitchell, we find 
that in five counties alone, in the year 1863, the Navahos stole 224 horses, 
4,178 cattle, 55,040 sheep, and 5,901 goats, besides killing sixteen citizens. 
Carson's method was to retaliate in kind, but in such swift and merciless 
fashion as to stun and bewilder the Navahos, unused, as they were, to 
quick and forceful action on the part of the Mexican soldiers. Carson 
fought as did De Wet and the other generals of the Boer war. They 
had no evolutions, no marching battalions advancing upon the foe in 
lined-up battle-array. Stealthily, in the night, by forced marches in unsus- 
pected places and at undreamed-of times, Carson's men moved and acted, 
hit suddenly, hit hard, killing all the horses, cattle, sheep, and goats they 
saw, remorselessly, relentlessly, and swiftly. Carson made war hell to the 
Navahos, and such swift and persistent hell that they began to realize — 
as nothing had ever made them realize before — that now they were fight- 
ing with men who knew no defeat, and who also knew how to conquer. 
There is 110 other ivay of deaUiig zvith ait Indian when he has once gone on 
the warpath. 

Thus deprived of food and of wool with which to make blankets, the 
ending of the year 1864 practically saw the major portion of the Navahos 



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Fk;. J31. 
Individualistic Design in " Extra " Blanket. 

ll "iirlcsy nf .1. A. Mololion & Cu. ) 



|1-.\GE 154] 



THE NAVAHO INDIAN 179 

surrendered and over 7,000 of them living at the Bosque Redondo. In 
the transporting of the prisoners to Bosque Redondo such great hardships 
and terrible exposures were experienced that many of them died, and the 
few who were allowed to retain their flocks and herds lost most of them 
in crossing the snow-covered mountains. 

During the time they were kept here the fates seemed against them. 
Year after year their crops failed. Even at the best they were not expert 
farmers, and the corn-worm ravaged the few crops they did persuade to 
grow. The grazing was insuflicient to nourish their flocks and herds, and 
they died in large numbers. Even the natural increase that took place 
was a disadvantage rather than a benefit, for the mother-sheep, weakened 
by insufficient food, not only could not nourish their lambs, but they were 
unable to recover their own strength, and perished. To add to their 
miseries their hereditary foes, the Comanches and other Indians of the 
plains, defying the forces of the United States that were supposed to 
protect them, stealthily fell upon them and punished them severely. Weak- 
ened by want of food, stricken by disease, broken in spirit, they were in 
sorry plight. 

Then came Congress to their rescue, under the administration of 
President Grant. A Peace Commission was appointed, and if any of my 
readers have felt that my many strictures, written here and elsewhere, 
upon the criminal wickedness of the white men who were the provoking 
causes of Indian wars — even those of the Apache and Sioux, as well as 
the Navaho — have been too severe, I would urge upon them a careful 
perusal of its report. The Commission claimed (and proved its claims) 
that in fifty years the United States Government had spent five hiDidrcd 
million dollars, besides the loss of twenty thousand lives, and. It unhes- 
itatingly affirmed, had been uniformly unjust toward the Indian. 

June I, 1867, General Sherman and Colonel Tappan signed a treaty 
with the Navahos — the terms of which I beg my readers to note carefully 
— by which they should be returned to their own country in New Mexico 
and Arizona, 

Schools should be established and schoolhouses built for every thirty children 
between the ages of six and sixteen years among them, their education made com- 
pulsory, the heads of families given one hundred and sixty acres of land for individual 
ownership, seeds and agricultural implements, flocks of sheep and cattle, and one 
hundred dollars the first year, twenty-five dollars the second and third years, with 
clothing and other articles needed to encourage and aid tiiem in beginning and living 
a civilized and industrious life. 

I have given these promises in the words of Colonel Twitchell. How 
were they carried out? The flocks were given to them, and some money, 
clothing, and food. But in the main they have been left to themselves to 



i8o INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

develop and prosper in their own way. The Government has done little 
for them, save the comparatively recent establishment of more schools. 
Today there are seven government schools on the reservation, in addition 
to those of the various religious bodies. None of the latter, however, 
receive any aid from the United States Indian Department. 

It should be noted with gratification, at this time, that there is a 
decided tendency to improvement in our treatment of the Navaho. And 
it may be that for many of the past years there has been an earnest desire 
to help them on the part of the high officials at Washington, which — 
broadly and generally speaking — was frustrated by the incompetency and 
inefficiency of the agents and superintendents in the field. I am led to 
this conclusion by recent personal investigations which have demonstrated 
that where an agent or superintendent really has the welfare of the Indian 
at heart, and his knowledge and ability are commensurate with his sym- 
pathies, he Is left to carry out his plans, not only unhampered by the 
department in Washington, but, in the main, with their cordial coopera- 
tion, sanction, and financial help. At the San Juan Agency, locally known 
as Shiprock, Superintendent W. T. Shelton took hold of matters with the 
clearest understanding of any man I have yet met in the Indian service in 
over thirty years of experience. He perceived, what all other workers 
with Indians have always learned, that to educate a boy or girl born In a 
hogan, away from all of the life he, or she, would naturally lead If left 
alone, and then return such an Individual to the original conditions and 
environment, was to waste time, energy, and money, just as If he were to 
prepare a beautiful garment, carefully laundering, embroidering, and 
decorating it, merely to throw it, when completed, upon a dirt pile to be 
trampled under foot by wild and unclean animals. The simile may seem 
, unduly strong, but it Is not any exaggeration upon the actual conditions that 
Mr. Shelton knew to exist. Hence, he determined to care for the life of 
the Navaho boys and girls of his school (and other schools) after their 
scholastic education was completed. With the vigor of the superior man 
who knows what he wants and how to obtain it he has gone ahead, backed 
up generously In the main by the department, and has set aside 5,000 
acres of land to be used as home plots for the Indians when they need 
them. This acreage is near enough to the San Juan Agency to allow 
daily contact with the life of the school and church, and to give the super- 
intendent and teachers opportunity for watchful care and guardianship 
over their whilom scholars. 

As soon as the young people graduate each one is given one of these 
house plots of five acres and aided in building a house, planting out the 
ground, and carefully cultivating the crop. Fine sheep, horses, pigs, and 
oxen have been bought for breeding purposes, and each scholar is given 




Individualistic Design. Same Weave as Fig. 230. 

(Cdurli-sy i)f J. .\. Mijlohon \- Co.) 
Showing the fertility of invention in the iii;ii<er. [P.\Gfc; 154J 



THE NAVAHO INDIAN i8i 

an opportunity to purchase these at the lowest possible price. If a couple 
desire to marry, their two plots are given together, if possible, and thus 
they are encouraged to settle down to a life of useful and civilized 
industry. The land is irrigated by a well-constructed system. 

Being on the reservation, their parents and friends are able to visit 
them and are encouraged to do so. In this way it is hoped the good 
influence will spread and the whole tribe ultimately be permeated with the 
better ways of the industrious white man. 

This plan of Superintendent Shelton cannot be too highly commended, 
and it is one which, if persistently followed, will do more to civilize the 
Navaho, or any other Indian, than a thousand years of the methods 
hitherto followed. 

There seems to be some conflict as to the number of Navahos now 
found on the reservation. Their number as given in 1869, when they 
returned from their banishment at Bosque Redondo, was nearly 9,000. 
In 1890, though the census is acknowledged to have been faulty, the 
figures returned were 17,204. That of ten years later gave more than 
20,000, and in 1906 the Indian Department reported a rough estimate 
of 28,500. On the other hand. Father Berard, of St. Michaels, in his An 
Ethfwlogic Dictionary, published in 19 10, confuses the census of 1890 
with that of 1900, assuming that that of 1900 gave the return of 17,204. 
Hence, he infers that 20,000 is as near as one can now estimate. Still 
others assert that, as many of the Navahos never submitted to "Kit" 
Carson, and have always lived in more or less inaccessible places, and yet 
have partaken, directly or indirectly, of the benefits that peace has brought 
to the tribe, they have increased to such an extent that it would be safe to 
say there were 35,000 of them. 

The report of the Indian Department for 19 12 gave the following 
figures of the Navahos who came under the observation, more or less, of 
agents and school superintendents at the agencies named. The gross 
totals are merely estimated and make no pretence to numerical accuracy. 

Gros.s Total of 
Children and 
Children of School Age — Adults 

Moki (Ream's Canyon) 462 2,000 

Navaho 2,500 9i990 

Leupp 425 1)342 

Western Navaho 1,409 6,131 

Albuquerque 62 208 

Pueblo Bonita 1,221 2,685 

San Juan 2,500 8,000 

Grand total of children. . . . 8,579 Grand total. . 30,356 



i82 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

While I have no desire to be an alarmist, it seems to me that the 
Indian Department will some day have a new Indian problem on its hands. 
As I have elsewhere shown, the Navaho is not confined strictly to his own 
reservation. He has reached over and seized all the available water-holes, 
springs, pasture, and corn-land on the Hopi Reservation that are not in the 
actual occupancy of the Hopis. He has done the same on the Zuni Reser- 
vation, and has not a few locations on the public domain. Being prosper- 
ous and well fed, he is naturally virile, and the women of the tribe being 
uniformly healthy and vigorous, families are sure of increase. The ratio 
of births enlarges as the years go by, and It will not be long before there 
will be 50,000 Navahos on territory that is none too large as it is. What 
then? If the Hopi and Zuni demand the clearing of their own reserves, 
how will the Government meet their demands? If uninterrupted occupa- 
tion confers certain rights, what will be said to the Navahos when they 
assert such a claim to springs and land on the public domain? And it must 
be remembered that the Navahos of this generation know little or nothing 
of the Bosque Redondo experience, and, in their prosperity, have come to 
regard themselves as their original name, Di-ne, implies — tJie people. 
They will prove to be no easy-going, peace-loving tribe who will meekly 
submit to what they regard as injustice. They will assert what they con- 
ceive to be their rights and bravely stand by them, and it behooves our 
Indian Department and the wide-awake statesmen of the land to begin to 
consider what course of action can righteously and properly be taken when 
these contingencies arise. 

About the name Navaho, its derivation, significance, and spelling, 
there has been considerable controversy. Here are the salient facts. The 
name first appears in literature in Benavides' Memorial to the King of 
Spain, written in 1630. He there says, after describing the Gila Apaches, 
that more than fifty leagues north of these — 

One encounters the province of the Apaches of Nauajo. Although they are 
the same Apache nation as the foregoing, they are subject and subordinate to another 
Chief Captain, and have a distinct mode of living. For those of back yonder did 
not use to plant, but sustained themselves by the chase ; and today we have broken 
land for them and taught them to plant. But these of Nauajo are very great farmers, 
for that is what Nauajo signifies — great planted fields. 

Upon this matter Father Berard sagely concludes: 

From the expression, " the Apaches of Nauajo," it is evident that the word 
Navaho was not given to the people, but was the name of the province or territory 
in which they lived; or, in other words, the Indians themselves were called Apaches, 
and their country was called Navaho, until, later, the name Apache was dropped 
and the name of the territory applied to the inhabitants. 




Fic. 233. 
Simple and Pleasing Design. 

Geiu-rally woven in "Kxtra" (luality. 



[I'Aoi; 154] 



THE NAVAHO INDIAN 183 

Dr. Edgar L. Hewett says: 

The Tewa Indians assert that the name " Navahu " refers to a large area of 
cultivated lands. This suggests an identity with Navaho, which Fray Alonzo 
Benavides applied to that branch of the Apache nation then living to the west of the 
Rio Grande, beyond the ven,- section above mentioned. ... It would seem, at any 
rate, that the Tewa origin of the tribal designation, Navaho, is assured. 

As to the spelling: Father Berard adopts Navaho in his An Ethno- 
logic Dictionary , as did Dr. Washington Matthews in his Navaho Legends, 
The Night Chant, and all his later writings on these people. These two 
men are by long odds the chief authorities upon the subject, and the 
" Bureau of American Ethnology," which is the official guide to all matters 
Indian in the United States, has formally adopted it; also the "Board 
of Geographic Names" and most leading writers. Why, then, others 
should object to Americanizing a name which had its origin in this country 
is to me a perversity and a mystery. Is there any pleasure to be derived 
from spelling a word so that hundreds of thousands of reasonably cultured 
Americans will mispronounce it? I am glad to follow the true American 
style. 

Father Berard says: 

In the English pronunciation of the word Navaho the first a is short and 
sounded as a in "hat"; the second a is indistinct; the h is strongly aspirated; the 
final o has its natural sound, and the accent is on the first syllable. Thus, in reading 
the word, the vowels and the v and h have about the same sound as in the sentence, 
" have a hoe." The Mexicans place the main accent on the last syllable, pronounce 
the h slightly guttural and sound the a as in "ma" and "pa." The Navahos 
themselves, when using this name, pronounce it thus: Na-we-ho. 

Their own name for themselves, however, is not Navaho. They are 
the Di-ne (Tinneh) — the people, relatives of the Tinnehs of Alaska, and 
the Apaches, of the great Athabascan stock. 



II 

The Religious Life of the Navaho 

TO a proper comprehension of the place the blanket and its decoration 
have in the life of the Navaho it is essential that we know some of 
the more important features of his religious life, and to understand, even 
though in an incomplete manner, his mental processes. 

That this is not an easy task is manifested by the fact that early and 
late writers have affirmed that the Navaho is irreligious, ignorant, and 
without tradition. As early as in the Smithsonian Report for 1855 Dr. 
Letherman, who resided for three years at Fort Defiance, in the heart of 
the Navaho country, wrote as follows: 

Of their religion little or nothing is known, as, indeed, all inquiries tend to show 
that they have none ; and even have not, we are informed, any word to express the 
idea of a Supreme Being. We have not been able to learn that any observances of a 
religious character exist among them; and the general impression of those who have 
had means of knowing them is, that, in this respect, they are steeped in the deepest 
degradation. . . . Their singing is but a succession of grunts, and is anything but 
agreeable. . . . Their lack of traditions is a source of surprise. They have no 
knov.ledge of their origin, or of the history of the tribe. 

As late as 1903 General U. S. Hollister wrote: 

Most authorities agree that the Navaho is not a particularly religious Indian, for 
the reason, I suppose, that he does not make much ado about it. He has no public 
Snake Dances or other ceremonies that are likely to attract attention of a casual 
visitor; nor does he set up totem poles or idols in his public places. His only con- 
spicuous appliance of worship is the altar in the medicine lodge, which is hidden from 
the sight of white men, excepting those who are in great favor. 

These altars are fantastically ornamented with feathers, stalks, and tassels of 
com, grain, grasses, and the like, and on the floor in front of the altar are strewed 
strange symbols in colored sand — "sand paintings," as they are called by white folks; 
and over these the incantations are made, prayers are said, and songs sung, to invoke 
happiness, and success in their every undertaking. 

In contradiction of these statements let me present what Dr. Wash- 
ington Matthews and Father Berard have to say upon this subject, both 
of them men who have given years to a thorough and persistent study of 
the Navaho. Dr. Matthews thus comments upon Dr. Letherman's state- 
ment, which he notes is confirmed by Major Kendrick, who for many 
years commanded the military post of Fort Defiance: 

184 




Fig. _^^4. 
Unique Design in " Extra " Quality. 

(Courtesy of .T. .\. Mololion & Co.) 
Designed by Veh-del-spah Bi-mah. 



[Page 154] 



RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE NAVAHO 185 

The evidence of these gentlemen, one would think, might be taken as conclusive. 
Yet, fifteen years ago, when the author first found himself among the Navahos, he 
was not influenced in the least by the authority of this letter. Previous experience 
with the Indians had taught him of how little value such negative evidence might be, 
and he bega.i at once to investigate the religion, traditions, and poetic literature, of 
which, he was assured, the Navahos were devoid. 

He had not been many weeks in New Mexico when he discovered that the dances 
to which Dr. Letherman refers were religious ceremonials, and later he found that 
these ceremonials might vie in allegory, symbolism, and intrieacy of ritual luith the 
ceremonies of any people, ancient or modern. He found, ere long, that these heathen, 
pronounced godless and legendless, possessed lengthy myths and traditions — so numer- 
ous that one can never hope to collect them all, a pantheon as ivell stocked iL'ith gods 
and heroes as that of the ancient Greeks, and prayers which, for length and vain 
repetition, might put a Pharisee to the blush. 

But what did the study of appalling "succession of grunts" reveal? It revealed 
that, besides improvised songs, in which the Navahos are adepts, they have knowledge 
of thousands of significant songs — or poems, as they might be called — which have 
been composed with care and handed down, for centuries perhaps, from teacher to 
pupil, from father to son, as a precious heritage, throughout the wide Navaho nation. 
They have songs of traveling, appropriate to every stage of the journey, from the time 
the wanderer leaves his home until he returns. They have farming songs which refer 
to every stage of their simple agriculture, from the first view of the planting ground 
in the spring to the " harvest home." They have building songs, which celebrate every 
act in the structure of the hut, from " thinking about it " to moving into it and lighting 
the first fire. They have songs for hunting, for war, for gambling — in short, for 
every important occasion in life, from birth to death, not to speak of prenatal and 
post-mortem songs. And these songs are composed according to established (often 
rigid) rules, and abound in poetic figures of speech. 

Perhaps the most interesting of their metrical compositions are those connected 
with their sacred rites — their religious songs. These rites are very numerous, many 
of them of nine days' duration, and with each is associated a number of appropriate 
songs. Sometimes, pertaining to a single rite, there are two hundred songs or more 
which may not be sung at other rites. 

In confirmation of the above statements, some of which I have itali- 
cized, Dr. Matthews was able to pubHsh before his death, in various mon- 
ographs, books, and scientific reports, a large number of these songs. I' or 
instance, in The Night Chant, which is a marvelously interesting nine-day 
healing ceremony of dances, songs, chants, and ritual, there are constant 
references to the power of beauty to transform the sick into the healthy. 
In the Legend of the Dazin Boy the priest, shaman, or medicine man who 
represents the Dawn Boy sings a song in which are the following lines: 

In the house of long life, there I wander. 
In the house of happiness, there I wander. 
Beauty before me, with it I wander. 
Beauty behind me, with it I wander. 
Beauty below me, with it I wander. 



1 86 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Beauty above me, with it I wander. 
Beauty all around me, with it I wander. 
In old age traveling, with it I wander. 
On the beautiful trail I am, with it I wander. 

Then, when asked what he wanted in this strange country to which 
he had come, Dawn Boy replied: 

I want many things. I have brought you pieces of precious stones and shells; 
these I wish wrought into beads and strung into ornaments, like those I see hanging 
abundantly on your walls. I wish domestic animals of all kinds. I wish good and 
beautiful black clouds, good and beautiful thunder storms, good and beautiful gentle 
showers, and good and beautiful black fogs. 

Later he expresses his joy in songs that, with Beauty behind, before, 
above, below, and around him, he returns; that he "holds it in his hands," 
and that even into old age he is "on the trail of beauty"; while still later 
he gives thanks constantly and with much iteration that " in a beautiful 
manner" he walks. 

When he arrives again at his home he gathers his people together 
and prays and sings of the beautiful things he has seen and the gifts of 
the gods, all of which are beautiful. Among others, he enumerates moc- 
casins, leggins, shirt, mind, voice, plumes, soft goods [blankets, etc.], 
horses, sheep, white corn, yellow corn, corn of all kinds, plants, clouds, 
male rain, female rain, dark mist, lightning, rainbows, pollen, and grass- 
hoppers, and then declares that all around him is beautiful, and he goes 
home. "On the trail of beauty, I am, In a beautiful manner, It is finished 
in beauty." 

Their poetic imagination is evidenced in such facts as that they 
believe that the first iron-gray horse was made of turquoise, the first red 
(sorrel) horse of red stone (carnelian?), the first black horse of cannel 
coal, the first white horse of white shell, and the first piebald horse of 
haliotis shell. So horses are now, according to their color, called after 
the different substances of which the first horses were made. Thus the 
Navahos speak of doVizUhi (turquoise or gray horse), basiaUin (red stone 
or sorrel horse), haszhii liii (cannel coal or black horse), yolkai I'm 
(haliotis or spotted horse). 

The hoofs of the first horse were made of tsehadahonige, or mirage stone, a 
stone on which paints are ground. Such stones are added to earth from six sacred 
mountains to form their most potent medicine. A shaman will not treat a diseased 
horse without this. It is used, too, when they pray for increase of stock and increase 
of wealth. — Dr. Matthews. 

Father Berard naturally views the ritualistic and ceremonial life, the 
myths, legends, and religion of the Navaho from the standpoint of a faith- 




Fi(,. .M5, 
Daring Design of Naturalistic and Geometric Figures. 

W\r.E .55] 



RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE NAVAHO 187 

ful and devoted son of the Catholic Church; hence, while he chronicles 
conscientiously what he has learned, he speaks of it all as superstition and 
heathen ignorance. He says: 

The elaborate system of religious worship among the Navahos lets them 
appear as a verj- religious people. Their anthropomorphic deities are numerous and 
strikingly democratic, each excelling in his peculiar sphere of independent activity 
or power. They are described as kind, hospitable, and industrious; on the other 
hand, as fraudulent, treacherous, unmerciful, and, in general, subject to passions and 
human weaknesses. Their lives, to a great extent, are reflected in the social condition 
of the Navaho; as, for instance, in the subordination to local headmen, in the manner 
of farming, hunting, ceremony, etc., all of which find an explanation in previous 
occurrences in the lives of the Holy Ones. This is especially true of the ceremonies 
or chants, most of which were established by the diyi-ni, or Holy Ones, for 
removing evil. 

In these comments Father Berard simply states of the Navaho what 
scholars of all ages have said of the Greeks and their pantheon of gods. 
Wherein is the difference? Robert G. IngersoU used to declare that "an 
honest god is the noblest work of man," and therein he stated the experi- 
ence of the ages. For so long as men look to their mentality, their reason, 
to furnish them with gods, the latter are sure to manifest the mental inade- 
quacies, ignorances, errors, faults, mistakes, vices, noblenesses, and gen- 
eral inconsistencies of their creators. It is only when men yield to the 
spiritual visions that, alas, in our fleshly condition come too seldom to us, 
that they gain a truly spiritual conception, small and faint though it may 
be, of the real spiritual Allness that governs and controls all things. 
Hence, the Navaho is not to be condemned for the limited scope of his 
spiritual vision, any more than are we, the so-called superior, civilized, and 
Christian people. 

Of the chants taught by the Holy Ones, Father Berard's comments 
are most interesting and revelative. Few white men have the remotest 
conception of the dignity and grandeur, in some respects, of these barbaric 
rituals. The sand-altars — those exquisite symbolic picture-mosaics, made 
by sprinkling vari-colored sands with consummate skill upon the floor of 
the medicine hogan, are known to, and appreciated by, but few. Every 
sign and symbol upon them has a deep and profound spiritual significance; 
and while, naturally, all the ceremony, its songs included, appears to us as 
foolish, blind superstition, we should rather be humble than proud when 
we consider how far from perfect our own religion makes us in our actual 
daily living. Father Berard says: 

The subject of Navaho chants is sufficiently intricate and varied to be of 
absorbing interest to the lover of folk-lore, as it is practically virgin soil, offenng 
unlimited possibilities ... A glance at the following list of chants should suggest 



i88 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

that comparatively little has as yet heen achieved by way of offering a comprehensive 
study of Navaho mythology, which, in reality, forms the basis and ritual for the 
chants, since the origin and motive for each chant is based upon its own peculiar 
legend. . . . [Then he expresses regret that] many chants are becoming extinct, and 
the singers conversant with legends, songs, and prayers are fast disappearing, without 
a possibility of filling such vacancies. It is also well established that much singing 
and exorcising is continuously practised by a class of inferior and ignorant apprentices, 
whom the Navaho designate as aza oniligi — those who offer a mouthful, implying 
that they make a few prayer-sticks accompanied by a song or two. . . . Hence, the 
extinction of the existing and more difficult chants is conceded as inevitable by the 
remnant of conservative and studious members of the chant lodges, for want of proper 
pupils. Efforts are consequently being made to obtain a complete account of the 
various legends, with a view of supplementing those already existing. 

He then enumerates the list of chants in two classes: first, those that 
do not directly deal with the yei, or gods; and, second, those as originated 
with and from the gods. Let us look at the wonderful scope of this first 
list. There are chants dealing with the " Moving Upward," or the begin- 
ning of things in the lower worlds, and their emergence upwards. The 
Moving Upward Chant is still largely in demand, as it is supposed to 
have great power in dispelling witches and their evil craft. The JVar 
Dance, which is for the dispelling of foreign enemies; the Rite of the 
God Men, which was extensively in demand on raids and in war (though, 
as now, raids and war are prohibited by the United States government, 
this is seldom sung nowadays). Then there is the Rite for Dispelling 
Monsters — or the blackening and driving out of witches and native ene- 
mies, in contradistinction to the driving out of foreign enemies. A cere- 
mony or chant continuously called for is that of Renewal, or Benediction. 
This is an essential feature of every Navaho chant. Hence, in the Night 
Chant, which requires nine days for its observance, one night is set apart 
for this chant of blessing. 

Outside of its connection with the longer chants, it appears as a one-night 
ceremony of blessing upon the hogan, the members of the family, their chattels and 
real estate, their crops and occupation, such as weaving and singing, their propen- 
sities to greed, at the nubile ceremony, or the birth of a child, the dedication of a 
new set of ceremonial masks, for the purification of the ceremonial paraphernalia — 
in fact, for almost any phase of domestic life. 

Then there is the Chant for Dispelling the Darts of the Male 
Powers of Evil, such as the lightning, rattlesnakes, and the like. When 
the first moccasin was made an Azvl Chant was composed and handed 
down, but of late years it has dropped into disuse. There is also an 
extinct Hail Chant, and one almost extinct called the Corral Rite. It was 
used for corralling antelope and deer, and in the chase at large; but, as 
the rifle and modern weapons have almost entirely done away with the 



I 




Fk;. 2^), 

The Flood of Red in the Outer Body of This Blanket Gives It a 
Rich and Warm Effect. 

[Page 155] 



RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE NAVAHO 189 

old methods of hunting, the old chants are no longer sung. Those that 
are still in vogue are the Big Star Chant; the Jrind Chant, to propitiate 
the winds that so often are harmful and injurious; the Coyote Chant, and 
a similar one for the removal of mania and prostitution; the Water Chant, 
the Female Lightning Chant, and the Chant for the Trapping of Eagles. 
The Feather Chant is sometimes in demand, but the fact that many 
requisites, such as baskets, buckskins, feathers, and numerous prayer- 
sticks, all the latter of which have to be made expressly for the particular 
ceremony in which they are to be used, militates against its popularity. 

The other chants are in some way connected with the Holy Ones. 
These are the Mountain Chant of the Maiden Becoming a Bear; the 
Chant of Beauty, by which the bear and copperhead inveigle two beautiful 
maidens into marriage with them; the Night Chant, of which Dr. Mat- 
thews says : 

It is really a healing ceremony. It is celebrated primarily for the cure of a 
rich invalid, who pays the heavy expenses; but the occasion is devoted to other 
purposes also, to prayers for the benefit of the people at large, and, among other 
things, to the initiation of youths and maidens, and sometimes people of maturer 
years, into the secret of the Yebitsai. 

After explaining the ceremony, the Doctor then continues: 

The secret of the Yebitsai is this: The Yet are the bugaboos of Navaho 
children. These Indians rarely inflict corporal punishment on the young, but, instead, 
threaten them with the vengeance of these masked characters if they are unruly. 
Up to the time of their initiation they are taught to believe, and, in most cases, 
probably do believe, that the Yei are genuine abnormal creatures whose function it is 
to chastise bad children. When the children are old enough to understand the value 
of obedience without resort to threats, they are allowed to undergo this initiation 
and learn that the dreaded Yii is only some intimate friend or relation in disguise. 
After this initiation they are privileged to enter the medicine lodge during the 
performance of a rite. 

One evening I attended a Yebitsai dance, a few miles from Ganado, 
Ariz., on the Navaho Reservation, and, making application to the Chief 
Chanter of the Dance, my companion, Mr. A. \V. Dubois, and myself 
were permitted (as I had been before) to undergo the rite of initiation. 
We disrobed in the medicine hogan and went through the whole rite. 
Afterward we took part in the concluding ceremonies of the nine days of 
the Night Chant, of which this Yebitsai initiation forms a part of but one 
night's rites. 

Then there are the Chant of the Clan Dance; the Feather-Shaft 
Chant, sometimes called the Knife Chant, or the Life Chant, as often upon 
the directness of feather-shaft of the shot arrow or the piercing power of 
the knife one's life depends; the Bead or Eagle Chant of the Great Ship- 



I90 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

rock, which is connected with the legendary advent of the Navahos into 
this country; the One Day Song, so called because it recounts the legend 
of a man slain by a bear and revived in one day; the Red Aiit Chant — the 
Navahos dread these tiny but active creatures; the Big God Chant; the 
Chiricahua-Apache Wind Chant; the Lightning Chant; the Female Light- 
ning Chant, and the Mountain Chant to the Small Birds. 

Who shall say that here is not material for study? And all are 
interesting. I have sat for nine nights in succession and listened to songs 
that must have consumed, say, five or six hours of each night in continuous 
performance, and there are few repetitions, yet each one must be sung 
correctly and entirely from memory or the whole nine days' ceremonies 
are vitiated and must be gone over again. Many of the songs are beauti- 
ful, as one can conceive on re-reading those of the blessing of the hogan, 
which are elsewhere quoted. 

As can well be understood from all that has gone before, the Navaho 
is a firm believer in spells, charms, portents, signs, wizardry, and witch- 
craft. His religion, naturally, is a crude religion largely composed of 
Nature Worship, and his primitive mind has sought to explain all the 
many diverse, strange, and especially harmful and hostile forces he finds 
around him, in accordance with the workings of his simple and untutored 
intellect. From the legends of the people we gain much information as to 
their beliefs. Some of these legends are quaint, interesting, beautiful, and 
instructive. These four adjectives may seem to be carelessly chosen, but 
they are not. They truthfully designate these stories. Naturally, when 
one gets a real peep Into the mind of the Indian, his methods of thought 
are found to be quaint. And in these legends this quaintness is enhanced 
by the fact that the stories are old and have all that peculiar flavor that 
belongs to stories that have been handed down for many hundreds of 
years. And how can the stories that account for the origin of the Navaho 
which are different from our origin stories, be other than interesting to 
those who like to know how the human mind works with different people, 
influenced by their own peculiar environment. That some parts of their 
stories are horrible and dreadful may be expected, for they deal with the 
primitive Instincts of man, where cruelty, even to murder, is no uncommon 
thing, and blood is made to flow freely. But just as the fierce thunder and 
lightning storm is often followed by the most exquisite and tender sky- 
effects, so are these harsh and bloody stories preceded and followed by 
revelations of exquisite tenderness, gentleness, kindness, and love. The 
instructlveness of these legends is in the opportunity they afford for the 
student to see the working of the primitive mind. The human mind is sub- 
ject to laws of development exactly as is the body, and it has grown up 
from its childhood just as each man has grown up from babyhood. In 








o 
o 




Fig. 240. 
Native Wool Fancy Blanket. 

(Mattiicws Collection.) 




■^v,;.. •'!> 



Fi(,. 2M-). 
Fancy Saddle Blanket, Native Wool. 



RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE NAVAHO 191 

studying these Indian stories we are getting back, to the period of the 
child-mind of the race, and such revelations are found to be in the highest 
degree instructive. 

To tell the whole story of the origin of the Navahos would fill a good- 
sized book. The first part of the legend recounts the emergence of the 
people from the four lower worlds into the fifth world. The second part 
tells of their experience in the fifth world. The third part tells of the war 
gods. The fourth, of the growth of the Navaho nation. 

It is in the third part that we learn the story of Yeitso, who was slain 
by the tn-o heroes of the tribe who cut off his head and placed it to the 
east of Mount San Mateo, where it is known as Cabezon and where the 
lava flow is regarded as the flow of his blood. 

Soon after these two heroes were born, while their mothers were 
baking corn cakes, Yeitso, the tallest and fiercest of the alien gods of the 
Navahos, appeared walking rapidly towards the liogtui. Knowing that 
he was a fierce cannibal and would slay and eat their children, one of the 
mothers hastily grabbed them up, earnestly cautioning them to be perfectly 
silent and hid them away in the bushes, under some bundles and sticks. 
Yeitso came and sat down at the door just as the women were taking the 
cakes out of the ashes. He wanted one of the cakes, but the women refused 
it. " Never mind," said Yeitso ; " I would rather eat boys. Where are your 
boys? I have been told you have some here and have come to get them." 
Putting Yeitso off as well as they could, they finally made him believe that 
there were no boys around. 

It was not very long after he had gone before one of the women, 
having to go to the top of a near-by hill, saw a number of these alien gods 
hastening towards their liogan from all directions. Hurrying down in 
great distress, she told her sister. This sister had magical power, and, 
picking up four colored hoops, she threw the white one to the east; the 
blue one to the south; the yellow one to the west and the black one to the 
north. These magic hoops produced a great gale which blew so fiercely 
in all directions from the liogan that even the great power of the alien 
gods was not sufficient to allow them to approach it. 

The two boys that Yeitso was hunting were little fellows of super- 
human origin, and, having no fathers as other boys had, were curious to 
find their fathers, and, in spite of the prohibitions of their mothers, would 
keep journeying first in one direction and then in another, determined to 
find their fathers, and the stories of their adventures are strange and 
wonderful. 

One of these stories was about their visit to the underworld, where 
they found the "Spider-woman." She it was who gave them their magic 
charms and taught them many magic formulae. One of these explains 



192 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

why the Navahos gather and use so much pollen in their ceremonies. 
Pollen, while plentiful in the aggregate, is very light, airy, floating stuff, 
and exceedingly difficult to gather. Yet the Navaho medicine men are 
indefatigable in procuring certain kinds of pollen at certain times of the 
year when the moon is in certain exact locations. 

When these boys met their giant enemies, all they had to do was to 
sprinkle towards them some of a certain kind of pollen and then repeat 
this formula: "Put your feet down with pollen. Put your hands down 
with pollen. Put your head down with pollen. Then your feet are pollen; 
your hands are pollen ; your body is pollen ; your mind is pollen ; your voice 
is pollen. The trail is beautiful. Be still." 

Here is one of the incidents that occurred as the two boys left the 
house of the Spider-woman. They came to the place known as " Tse'- 
yeintl'H" (the rocks that crush). There was here a narrow chasm 
between two high cliffs. When a traveler approached, the rocks would 
open wide apart, apparently to give him easy passage and invite him to 
enter; but as soon as he was within the cleft they would close like hands 
clapping and crush him to death. These rocks were really people; they 
thought like men; they were anaye (that is, cannibalistic gods). When 
the boys got to the rocks they lifted their feet as if about to enter the 
chasm, and the rocks opened to let them in. Then the boys put down their 
feet, but withdrew them quickly. The rocks closed with a snap to crush 
them; but the boys remained safe on the outside. Thus four times did 
they deceive the rocks. When they had closed for the fourth time the 
rocks said: "Who are ye; whence come ye two together, and whither 
go ye?" "We are children of the Sun," answered the boys. "We come 
from Dsilnaotil, and we go to seek the house of our father." Then they 
repeated the words that the Spider-woman had taught them, and the rocks 
said: "Pass on to the house of your father." When next they ventured 
to step into the chasm the rocks did not close, and they passed safely on. 

The boys kept on their way and soon came to a great plain covered 
with reeds that had great leaves on them as sharp as knives. When the 
boys came to the edge of the field of reeds (Lokaadikisi), the latter opened, 
showing a clear passage through to the other side. The boys pretended to 
enter but retreated, and as they did so, the walls of reeds rushed together 
to kill them. Thus four times did they deceive the reeds. Then the reeds 
spoke to them as the rocks had done; they answered and repeated the 
sacred words. " Pass on to the house of your father," said the reeds, 
and the boys passed on in safety. 

The next danger they encountered was in the country covered with 
cane cactuses. These cactuses rushed at and tore to pieces whoever at- 
tempted to pass through them. When the boys came to the cactuses the 




An Old Native Wool Dyed Blanket. 

(Courtesy of American Musc-uin of X.itiir.il History.) 



[Pace 156! 




c 

s 

•a -2 

..- u 

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RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE XAVAHO 193 

latter opened their ranks to let the travelers pass on, as the reeds had 
done before. But the boys deceived them as they had deceived the reeds, 
and subdued them as they had subdued the reeds, and passed on in safety. 

After they had passed the country of the cactus they came, in time, 
to Saitad, the Land of the Rising Sands. Here was a great desert of sands 
that rose and whirled and boiled like water in a pot, and overwhelmed 
the traveler who ventured among them. As the boys approached, the 
sands became still more agitated and the boys did not dare venture among 
them. "Who are ye?" said the sands, "and whence come ye?" "We 
are children of the Sun, we came from Dsiluaotil, and we go to seek the 
house of our father." These words were four times said. Then the 
elder of the boys repeated his sacred formula; the sands subsided, saying: 
"Pass on to the house of your father," and the boys continued on their 
journey over the desert of sands. 

The boys finally reached the house of the Sun God, their father. It 
was built of turquoise, but square like a pueblo house and stood on the 
shore of a " great water." Here they were in much danger and would 
undoubtedly have perished had it not been that they were magically pro- 
tected. For in a short time the giant who bore the Sun on his shoulder 
came in. He took the Sun off his back and hung it on a peg on the west 
wall of the room, where it shook and clanged for some time, going, " tla, 
tla, tla, tla," till at last it hung still. It took some time for the bearer of 
the Sun God to realize that he was the father of these boys, but when he 
did, he greeted them with great affection and asked them their mission. 
They explained that the land in which they dwelt was cursed and devas- 
tated by the presence of a number of alien gods who devoured their peo- 
ple. Said they: "They have eaten nearly all of our kine; there are few 
left; already they have sought our lives and we have run away to escape 
them. Give us, we beg, the weapons with which we may slay our enemies. 
Help us to destroy them." This petition pleased the bearer of the Sun 
God and he gave them clothing and a number of weapons which would 
enable them to accomplish what they desired. He took from the pegs 
where they hung around the room and gave to each a hat, a shirt, leggins, 
moccasins, all made of iron, a chain-lightning arrow, a sheet-lightning 
arrow, a sunbeam arrow, a rainbow arrow, and a great stone-knife or 
knife-club. "These are what we want," said the boys. They put on the 
clothes of iron, and streaks of lightning shot from every joint. 

After more trials of their shrewdness and powers of perception, dur- 
ing which time the Sun God carried them through the heavens, he finally, 
after making them point out the place where they lived, spread out a 
streak of lightning on which he shot down the children to the summit of 
Mount San Mateo. Here four holy people told them all about Yeitso. 



194 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

They said that he showed himself every day three times on the mountains 
before he came down, and when he showed himself for the fourth time 
he descended from the mountain to drink; that, when he stooped down to 
drink, one hand rested on the mountain and the other on the high hills 
on the opposite side of the valley, while his feet stretched as far away as 
a man could walk between sunrise and noon. This was the opportunity 
the boys wanted. While waiting, however, they decided to try one of 
the lightning arrows which their father had given them. When they shot 
it, it made a great cleft in the side of IVIount San Mateo, where it remains 
to this day, and one of the brothers said to the other: "We cannot suffer 
in combat while we have such weapons as these." 

Soon they heard the sounds of thunderous footsteps, and they beheld 
the head of Yeitso peering over a high hill in the east; it was withdrawn 
in a moment. Soon after, the monster raised his head and chest over a 
hill in the south, and remained a little longer in sight than when he was 
in the east. Later he displayed his body to the waist over a hill in the 
west; and lastly he showed himself down to the knees over a mountain in 
the north. Then he descended, came to the edge of the lake, and laid 
down a basket which he was accustomed to carry. He stooped down to 
drink, and so frightful was his appearance that it made the boys afraid, 
but by and by their courage came back and they taunted the giant when he 
made a threat that he was going to eat them. The Wind (which in Navaho 
mythology is a personification), In his kindness towards the boys, gave 
them warning as to the treacherous acts contemplated by Yeitso, and 
made it possible for them to dodge the lightning bolts that he rapidly 
hurled at them one after another. Escaping the giant's arrows, the 
brothers had time to put their own lightning arrows into place, pull the 
bow-string taut, and fire. Four times did the elder brother shoot, and when 
the fourth arrow struck the giant, it brought him to the ground, flat upon 
his face, his arms and legs outstretched. As he lay there, the younger 
brother stepped up and scalped him, and then they cut off his head and 
threw it away, where it may be seen to this day. 

The blood from the body flowed in a great stream down the valley, 
and the boys stood watching it with no thought of danger until their friend, 
Wind, told them that it was flowing in the direction of the home of another 
alien god and that if it reached that far Yeitso would come to life again. 
Then the elder brother took his great stone-knife, which had magic power, 
and drew a line with it across the valley. When the blood reached this 
line it piled itself high until It began to flow in another direction. Here 
again was danger, for Wind whispered that it was flowing towards the 
home of another alien god known as " Bear That Pursues," and that if it 
reached this far Yeitso would come to life again. Again the elder brother 




-■44- 



A Hopi Weaver at Sichomovi. 




I'iG. 245. 
A Hopi Weaver at Oraibi. 



Fi(.. 24(k 

Hopi Ceremonial Sash, and Woman's 

Sash or Belt. 




Fk;. 247. 

Hopi Weaving Ceremonial 

Sash. 



•ic. j-|S. 

Hopi Priests. Method of Wearing Cere 

monial Sash or Kilt in the 

Snake Dance. 



RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE NAVAHO 195 

drew a line with his knife on the ground and again the blood piled up and 
stopped flowing, and that is the reason the blood of Yeitso fills all the 
valley today, the high cliffs of black rock that you see being the place where 
the blood piled up after the elder brother had drawn the line with his 
magic knife. 

This is but a taste of hundreds, possibly thousands, of pages that 
might be given of Navaho lore. 



Ill 

Navaho Land 

"VTAVAHO LAND is not a land of cultivated areas, of smiling fields 
^ in fertile valleys, where the homes of happy and prosperous people, 
surrounded by merry and boisterous children, look out at you through 
the leafage of fruit-laden trees. No! no! Picturesque, certainly, it is 
in places; wild, rugged, and fantastic in others; but, as a rule, it is not 
alluring to those who look for pretty, cultivated, refined landscapes. A 
taste of Navaho land scenery may be had in riding on the main line of the 
Santa Fe Railway going to California on the border-line between New 
Mexico and Arizona. There are giant cliffs of different colored sand- 
stones, some of the rocks having fallen In vast boulder-like masses. 
Between these cliffs extend great stretches of valley lands In which sage- 
brush and wild grasses grow in abundance. 

In riding out to St. Michaels, Ganado, and Chin Lee from Gallup 
station, one gains a reasonable conception of this tumbled and upheaved 
land. First the road is fairly level, then there is a sudden and steep uphill. 
On the summit of this the road begins a long, slow, and very easy descent. 
Indeed, it is so easy that it seems almost level, and appears a fairly smooth 
valley. Then there is another brief and steep uphill beyond which another 
slightly sloping valley extends to yet another uphill, and so on, for thirty 
miles or more. Then we reach a higher "divide," or crest, covered with 
pinions — nut pines — small pines (the large ones have been cut out for 
lumber) and junipers, and great sandstone walls, vast, gigantic, towering, 
appear before us. In many regions these would be deemed titanic features, 
and would make a landscape famous, but here they are so common that 
one takes a good look and passes on. The stranger may try climbing 
to the top of a cliff to get a good outlook, but he soon grows tired of this 
if he travels further and deeper into the reservation. 

The whole country is elevated, the lowest portions being about 4,000 
feet above sea level, and the hilly parts from 6,000 to 7,000 feet, while 
the mountains tower to 9,000 and 10,000 feet. In their legends the 
Navahos regard certain high mountains as the boundary marks of their 
country. Each of these mountains Is sacred, and has an important name. 
To the west Is the San Francisco Range (seen from Flagstaff, on the line 
of the Santa Fe). This is Dokoslid, but when its sacred character is 
referred to it is Dichilidzil, the hallotis mountain, because yellow is the 

196 




iMG. J4'-,. 

An Old Chimayo or Mexican Blanket. 

Cnllcil by the N.-ivali.is nrik h.ii l)K-lii.ii | l^,.i: i(..)l 



.MWwnnwinnnHmiwHW 



^■^^Mi^wmn^m^^smmi':'. 



«S«iis 



:::...: :.„ , ■ ;:,■■,■•:.■■.•.•■■■ •-■■.•■!' ; ■"■ : ■ ■■■YiillttlHMHUHir ' ' 

«il|W«««!«««liil«»lMW«IW«lliWJ««>i«i^^ 

iiM«im«iMi»«ii«««ii«ii«»Ki««ra<^^ 



lwllil<iaHiiuaw in i'tl W iN!W' M W H lMMHt|<l*8M^^ 

wiiiiilMiwilMiii iiii i uii ii piw ^^ 
iimiiiWiHl»iiiwB» M i iMl «i i i<««« ^ 







Fig, _>50. 
Rare Old Chimayo Blanket in Black, Blue, and White. 



(Fred Harvey Cullectioii.) 



[Page 169] 



NAVAHO LAND 197 

sacred color of the West. Sismijin — the woman's standing black belt, 
or Pelade Peak, is the sacred mountain of the East, and its ceremonial 
name is Yolgaidzil — the white bead mountain. Mount Taylor — or as the 
Mexicans call it. Mount San Mateo — Is the sacred mountain of the South. 
Ordinarily it is Tsadzil, the giant tongue (so called because one of its vast 
lava flows seems like a vast out-thrust tongue), but ceremonially it is 
Yodotlizliidzil, the blue turquoise mountain. Debentsa, the mountain of 
the sheep — or the San Juan mountain of the whites — is the sacred moun- 
tain of the North, and it is then Bashzhinidzil, or the cannel-coal mountain, 
black being the color of the North. 

According to their origin-legends, these sacred mountains were 
brought from the lower worlds and placed in their present positions by 
the First Man. In their sacred sand-paintings these mountains figure 
largely and can always be told by their location and the colors by which 
they are represented. 

Now and again great sweeps of country are presented which are prac- 
tically bare, barren, desolate desert, with almost unclad hills rising from 
the plains and destroying the otherwise distressing monotony. Yet there 
are many mountains actually in the reservation, as, for instance, the 
Luckachuchai Mountains, so named from the Navaho word which sig- 
nifies "the white reed patches." These are at the northwestern end. In 
the central part is the Tunicha Range (large water), and the southeastern 
end, the Chuska, or Chusca Range (white spruce). There are also a few 
Isolated mountains, or groups, as the Carrlzos (mountains surrounded by 
mountains), and the Black Mountains In the West. Not far from the 
junction of the San Juan River with the Colorado, Is Navaho Mountain, 
which, on a clear day, can be seen from El Tovar hotel porch at the Grand 
Canyon. 

On these hilly slopes the pinion grows naturally in abundance, and 
its nut is one of the crops of the Navaho which he is slowly beginning 
to use to his financial advantage. The day before this present writing I 
stood and saw a wagon-load of pinion nuts unloaded at a Navaho trading- 
store on the reservation. There was over a ton of the nuts and the Indian 
received about seven cents per pound for them. A week or two earlier I 
had seen three carloads of these nuts shipped on the railway. The pinion 
nut of these regions Is of the same family as the piiiola of Italy, but is 
much richer and sweeter. Experts tell us it abounds In protcids, and 
Is one of the most nourishing of muscle foods. It certainly is the most 
delicious and tasty of all nuts. Unfortunately, the crop In the Navaho 
country Is uncertain, there being a good yield but once every five to seven 
years. Of course It receives no cultivation or care whatever, and the 
traders never seem to have considered the advisability of trying cultiva- 



198 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

tion, even though it went no further than dry farming. There is too little 
water in the Navaho country to allow for irrigation, even were i* desirable 
with the pinion, a matter upon which I know nothing. 

Yet if this could be made a reliable crop with a little extra labor, 
what a profitable yield these nature-planted trees would afford. Another 
thing, as yet the Navaho traders have learned no way of easy shelling 
these nuts, and to most people this is so slow and tedious a task that 
they will forego the pleasure of eating the nut rather than be bothered 
with it. Unshelled, the nuts are worth, probably, from nine to twelve 
cents per pound. Shelled, they would be worthy fully twenty-five cents to 
thirty cents per pound. The shells are exceedingly light, not weighing 
more, I should assume, than one-fifth to one-fourth of the nut itself. 

This is the only natural crop, as far as I know, upon which any of 
the Navahos rely. They raise some corn, but use all they grow, hence 
commercially, corn-raising scarcely counts with them. 

The high elevation, the want of water, and the general climatic con- 
ditions are not favorable to agriculture or pomoculture, for while it is hot 
in summer the nights are generally cool, and the time for maturing crops 
short. Hence, the Navahos have had to turn to other sources of wealth, 
and their land affording fairly good pasturage, it seemed as if a kind fate 
had turned their attention to sheep-grazing, wool-raising, and blanket- 
weaving; for, by making a specialty of these industries, they have sprung 
in a few years into a prosperity that makes them, from their standpoint, a 
rich and independent nation. 

While much of Navaho land seems to be desert, there are, however, 
great stretches of a splendid growth of white pine on the Chuska Range, 
and there are forests of the red cedar (Jumperus v'trghiianus) , and west- 
ern juniper (J. occidentalis) on the lower levels. Patches of scrub-oak 
are to be found anywhere on the mountains, and in the canyons cotton- 
woods, box-elders, aspen, alder, walnut, and peach thrive abundantly. 

Through some of the mountainous plateaus, deep-gorged, tortuously 
winding canyons have been cut by corrosion or erosion, and through these 
the mountain rains, and the water of the melted snows are drained out 
into the valleys. The result is the Navaho reservation is not less noted 
for its canyons than its deserts and mountains. 

One of the most world-famed of these is the Canyon de Chelly, a 
foolish (apparently Frenchified) spelling of the Navaho name for canyon, 
tseg'i. This is known because of the wonderful cliff-dwellings that have 
been discovered here, some of which rank as the most perfect specimens of 
aboriginal stone-work in the boundaries of the United States. Close by 
are the Canyon del Muerto, so-called from the many mummified human 
bodies found in the cliff-ruins, and Monument Canyon, the entrance to 




pgmmmmmmi mmmmmmm 



Fit;. 25 r. 
Handsome Chimayo Blanket. 

(Made e\i'rfs--ly (•>t Rt-v. <i. I lacllcrni.iii, 
Santa Cniz, X. M. ) 



NAVAHO LAND 199 

which is made dignified and impressive by a giant mass of rock that stands 
detached from the main wall as a lone sentinel guarding the gateway. 

In 19 1 2 I made a visit to these canyons while completing my book — 
The Prehistoric Cliff DiieUings of the Atuerican Soiith'jjest — and to the 
pages of that book I refer the reader for further impressions of these 
three wonderfully historic and scenic places. There are many other cliff- 
dwellings found within the boundaries of the reservation, and scores of 
ruins of houses, both singly and in groups, and even pueblos. All along 
the Little Colorado River many of these are to be found, and the Chaco 
Canyon country is almost as famous as Canyon de Chelly for its cliff and 
house ruins, which were first described over thirty years ago in Scrihner's 
Magazine. Of some of these ruins Dr. Edgar L. Hewett, of the American 
Institute of Archaeology at Santa Fe, N. M., thus writes: 

Another group of ancient towns, less picturesque in situation but of equal interest, 
is that of the Chaco Canyon in Northwestern New Mexico. These great houses, 
standing in the open, some five stories high, were built of sandstone blocks, in some 
cases so arranged in courses of varying thickness as to produce decorative effects. They 
had no natural security of situation on high mesas or in deep canyons, but stood in the 
open valley and on the sandy plain, entirely unprotected save by their own massive 
walls. Best known of all in this group is Pueblo Bonito, a huge structure five stories 
high, semi-circular in form, its walls still standing to a height of over forty feet. Not 
far away are the ruins of Chettro Kettle, Hungo Pavie, Wijiji, and Penasco Blanco. 
This famous group of ruins stands in the midst of a desolate plain, the Navaho Desert, 
now almost devoid of water and incapable of supporting any population except of 
wandering Navahos. 

Close to the San Francisco and San Mateo Mountains are vast areas 
of lava — flows that altogether surpass in extent and vvildness the classic 
lava-Bows of the South of France, and of which the legends are told 
referred to in a former chapter. 

When one gives time to the study of the Navaho language he finds 
himself well repaid by the poetic descriptions that are used, for instance, 
in the names of places. One is called "Where the Cranes Stand," another 
"The Hawk's Nest." Here are others, "Where Water Flows in the 
Darkness under the Rock," "Where Water Flows out of a Canyon," "The 
Buttes that Stand like Twin Stars," "The Baby Rock," "The Small Can- 
yon Meadow," "Where They Fall into the Pit of Water." This latter 
name is given to a pool in the Black Mountain region much frequented by 
game. Owing to the rocks of the pool sloping inward towards the center 
and not affording sutlicient foothold, the thirsty animals are entrapped 
somewhat after the fashion of the early game-pit-traps of the natives. 
Here are a few more names: "The Sumach Spring in the Black Moun- 
tains," "Rough Rock Spring," "Antelope Spring," "The Water Flows 
through the Rock," "Tangled Waters," "Fringed Waters," "Slim 



200 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Water," "Crystal Water Flows Out," "Braided Willows," "Winged 
Rock," "Red Round Rock," "The Conical Sand Dune," "Beaver's Eye 
Spring." 

In the reading of but one Navaho legend will be found the following 
rich list of poetic names: "One-eyed Water," "Rock Sticking Up," 
"Beautiful Under the Cottonwoods," "White Standing Rock," "Erect 
Cat-tail Rushes," "Clay Hill," "Scattered Springs," "Narrow Water," 
"Beautiful in the Mountains," "Circle of Red Stones," "Wind Circles 
Around a Rock," "Narrow Sand Hills," "Valley Surrounded on All 
Sides by Hills," "Rock That Bends Back," "Big Oaks," "Last Moun- 
tain," " Mountain Comes Down Steep," " Four Doorways Under a Moun- 
tain," "Where Yellow Streak Runs Down," "Where They Came To- 
gether," " House of Rock Crystal," " Broad Cherry Trees," " Leaf Moun- 
tain," "White Water Running Across," "Brown Earth Water," "Much 
Grease Wood," "Where Two White Rocks Lie," "Radiating White 
Streaks," " Lone Juniper Standing Between Cliffs," " Woods on One Side," 
"Standing Rock Above," "Sheep Promontory," "Sheep Lying Down," 
"Rock Cracked in Two," "Hill Surrounded with Young Spruce Trees," 
"White Ground," "Dipping Rocks," "Cold Water," "Black Moun- 
tains," and "Hard Earth." 

With such a splendid catalogue of place-names, who shall say the 
Navahos have no eye for beauty and no poetic facility in describing it. 

As already shown, inclination and interest have led the Navahos to 
take the fullest possible opportunity of availing themselves of the grazing 
features of their reserve. Not hundreds or thousands, but hundreds of 
thousands of sheep are found in bands wherever grazing and water are 
assured. One will pass half a hundred bands of several hundred each in 
a day's journey. These are always in the charge of the women, or girls 
and boys of adult years. 

As a sheep-herder the Navaho woman has no superior in the world. 
She shows patience, skill, and real tenderness in her dealings with her flock. 
Indeed, on two or three occasions I have known of Navaho women suck- 
ling at their own breasts new-born lambs whose mothers had died. It is 
no uncommon thing to see them ahead of their flocks, the sheep following 
contentedly, just as is described by David the Psalmist. 

The herds are generally taken out in the morning, guided all day, 
kept moving to better pasture, and to water, and then returned to the 
corral at night. Owing to the increasing number of the flocks and the 
constant treading down of the grass, the pasture is growing scarcer each 
year, and this is going to add ere long to the problem the Indian 
Department will have to solve regarding the Navahos. 

As yet the Navahos have not seen the wisdom of preparing for the 




Fic. 252. 
Old Chimayo, Black, White, and Blue. 

(Fred Ilarvi-y Colli-Ltiini. ) 
The usual type of old C'liimayo is plain blue and white stripes, 
thinigh diversified in the arranKement of the stripes. The type here 
illustrated is rare, and the desiljn is really derived from the Saltillo 
hlanket of Old Mexie.i. The Chimayos are part Indian and part Me.\i- 
can and their stvie of weaving and designs can be traced to both, 

[Pack 171] 




Fig. 253. 
Rare Old Chimayo of Simple Design. 

(Autlior's Cillnli.in.) 



NAVAHO LAND 201 

winter. They cut no hay, hence when the pasture is gone, the herds must 
do the best they can on the sage-brush and what withered grass they can 
find; or, when it becomes worse still, the herders cut pinion and cedar 
branches for them to gather therefrom what scant nutriment they can find. 

Often, if one approaches these bands of sheep unseen, he will hear 
the loud and musical, though peculiar and characteristic, voices of the 
herders raised in song. They are great singers, and singing plays a 
remarkably important part in their ceremonial and religious life. 

Experts tell us that many impro\"ements are to be desired in the 
Navaho sheep-herds, yet they are beginning to see that better stock means 
better prices. Hence, some of the wiser Navahos are killing off their old 
rams and selecting new stock with judicious care. They are also separating 
their herds of sheep and goats. Hitherto this has not been done, to the 
immense detriment of the herds. A real Navaho goat, two years old, 
will give a pelt weighing about two to two and a half pounds. It is worth 
about forty cents per pound. This makes the pelt worth from seventy- 
five cents to one dollar. The meat is good, and, properly cooked, is both 
tender and tasty, though slightly "stronger" than ordinary mutton. The 
animal itself, too, is hardier than the sheep, can stand drought better, and 
is less liable to disease. The goat-skin is largely used for book-binding 
purposes, much of the so-called morocco and French morocco being noth- 
ing but our Navaho friends' goat-pelt under an aristocratic name. On the 
other hand, sheep pelts are worth but from eight to ten cents per pound, 
and a two-year-old sheep will give a pelt weighing three to four pounds. 
Yet, sheep for the white market are more profitable, as on the hoof they 
bring nearly twice as much as goats of the same weight. 

The traders and the government officials are now trying to show the 
Navahos that it is to their best interest to keep sheep and goats apart, to 
kill or sell off as soon as they can all cheap cross-breeds, to kill their poor 
stock rams and buy those of pure breeds, and breed them only with sheep 
of assured wool-giving qualities, when wool is desired, and with good 
mutton producers, when they are to be sold on the hoof to the white 
packers. 



IV 

Reliable Dealers in Navaho Blankets 

TT IS scarcely to be expected that every purchaser of a Navaho blanket 
will be interested enough to go as deeply into its history and manufac- 
ture as has the author. Nor can he expect to absorb in a brief perusal 
of a few pages sufficient knowledge to make him an expert in judging the 
value of any blanket that may be offered to him if he place himself in the 
position of a possible purchaser. But I can do such possible purchaser, 
who values my judgment and word, a great and lasting service by placing 
him in direct touch with dealers who are thoroughly familiar with all 
phases of the business, and whose reliability many years of experience have 
proven to be unquestioned. 

When I suggested the introduction of this chapter to my publishers, 
they felt considerable hesitancy as to its propriety. They argued it was 
not customary, and it might seem to savor of invidiousness. My replies are 
that new conditions require new methods of meeting them. High class 
newspapers and magazines have long ago adopted a system of genuine 
helpfulness towards their readers in guaranteeing the reliability and 
honesty of their advertisers. In this case there is no advertising, but my 
readers are entitled to the results of my experience and knowledge as far 
as I can give them. The fact that there are unreliable dealers in Navaho 
blankets, who cheat and deceive their customers, and that, on the other 
hand, there are those whose integrity and knowledge are unquestioned, 
is my justification for calling specific attention to the latter. 

As for the possibility of involving the publisher in any trouble I 
hereby personally agree to refund to any purchaser any sum he may lose 
through misrepresentation or dishonest treatment at the hands of any of 
the dealers herein named. 

Foremost among those to whom the collector must turn for the rarest, 
choicest, and finest specimens of the Navaho, Pueblo, and Chimayo weav- 
ers' art now on the market is Fred Harvey, whose principal blanket exhibit 
is at Albuquerque, N. jM., in one portion of the picturesque Santa Fe depot 
offices, and hotel, named after Alvarado, one of the Captains of Artillery 
who accompanied Coronado on his journey of exploration and conquest 
of New Mexico in 1540. 

For a number of years Fred Harvey has had collectors gathering 
up every old blanket of superior worth, whether of Navaho, Mexican,^ 

202 




C 



n 






U 



o 



RELIABLE DEALERS IN NAVAHO BLANKETS 203 

Chimayo, Hopi, Zuni, Acoma, Laguna, or Alaskan origin. Money has 
been no object, but every good blanket must be secured. All the leading 
collections not already in museums have also been gathered in, first one, 
then another, until the Harvey collection is notable. Several of his choicest 
specimens are illustrated herein. 

Those who travel on the transcontinental line of the " Santa Fe," 
as the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway is popularly known, will need 
no assurance as to the integrity of Fred Harvey. Ever since the railway 
has been in operation he has had charge of the eating house and dining- 
car system, and his excellent service has made his name world-famed and 
synonymous with the best of foods, cooked and served in the best of style. 
The same business principles that have made the Fred Harvey hotels, eat- 
ing houses, lunch counters, and dining-car service famed among travelers 
have already built up the largest business in Indian blankets, baskets, pot- 
tery, and curios in the world, and prospective purchasers may fully rely 
upon everything that they may secure either at Albuquerque or any of 
his branch establishments being genuine, and as represented. 

Elsewhere I ha\"e referred to. the work of C. N. Cotton and John 
Lorenzo Hubbell in furthering the development of the blanket-weaving art 
among the Navahos. These men are still in the blanket business, the former 
as a dealer, purchasing from the traders, while the latter still carries on 
the business directly with the Indians themselves. In 1884 Mr. Cotton, 
W'ho had been the station agent of the Santa Fe Railway at Wingate, 
N. M., bought an interest in Mr. Hubbell's Indian trading post at Ganado, 
Arizona, which is some sixty miles northwest from Gallup, N. M. In 
those days the trade for blankets was small and insignificant. In 1884 all 
the new firm secured was two small bales of common blankets weighing 
not more than from 300 to 400 pounds, the designs being of the plain 
straight-line type. Saddle blankets were not purchased at all. 

In 1894 J\Ir. Cotton gave up the direct trading with the Navaho, 
removed to Gallup, N. M., and ever since has* dealt only with the traders, 
supplying them with all the goods they need to sell to the Indian and taking 
in return everything the traders secure from them. The special feature of 
his blanket trade, therefore, has been to secure a market. Each year 
the demand for good blankets has increased. The firm name Is "The 
C. N. Cotton Company," Gallup, N. M., and it disposes of its blankets 
only at wholesale. The first illustrated and descriptive catalogue of the 
Navaho blanket ever issued, I had the pleasure of writing for Mr. Cotton 
nearly twenty years ago. He and Mr. Hubbell can truthfully be called 
the fathers of the business among the white race, and while Mr. Cotton 
is no longer in partnership with Mr. Hubbell they have a close business 
relationship, and many of the latter's finest blankets are purchased by 



204 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Mr. Cotton. So it is with traders all over the reservation. Their best 
blankets are shipped to Mr. Cotton as fast as the Indians bring them in. 

Few men have ever held so honored and rare a position in the esteem 
of the Navahos and in relation to the blanket industry as does John 
Lorenzo Hubbell, of Ganado, Arizona. Indeed, it would be as impossible 
to write truthfully and comprehensively of the history of the Navaho 
blanket and leave out Mr. Hubbell's relation to it, as it would be to give 
the history of the phonograph and leave out the name of Edison. As I 
have shown in the chapter on the Development of the Art, Mr. Hubbell 
has seen all the latter-day developments of blanket-weaving. He saw 
the art deteriorate, and then set himself to work to stem the tide of igno- 
rance and carelessness which bid fair speedily to wreck what his far-seeing 
vision knew might be a means of great wealth to an Industrious and 
struggling people. He spoke the Navaho language fluently, lived in the 
very heart of the reservation and was in daily contact with some of the 
most progressive men and women of the tribe. He took them into his 
office and talked with them, one by one. As rapidly as was possible he 
eliminated the use of cotton warp, showing the weavers that, while its 
substitution for the wool warps saved them much time, it made the blan- 
ket so much inferior that he could not pay anything like the same price 
for it. Then he eliminated certain dyes from his trade. He refused to 
keep the colors that the Indians used so recklessly when they had once 
broken loose from the old traditions of pure colors. Then, slowly but 
surely, he discouraged the use of Germantown yarn, and urged the thor- 
ough cleaning and scouring, carding, spinning, and dyeing of their own 
wool. During all this time he was urging the weavers to higher endeavor, 
and giving special privileges and favors to those who showed not only 
skill and originality of design, but general acquiescence in his endeavors 
to improve the art. The final result has been that now he has gathered 
around him by far the finest set of weavers on the whole reservation; he 
has found out the class of work best done by certain women, and who are 
the "color artists" for the making of that style of fancy blankets in 
which color plays the most important part. Then, too, he has learned 
from practical experience, what designs of pure Navaho origin please the 
most exacting patrons, and these he has had copied in oil or water-colors, 
and they line the walls of his office by the score. 

Hence, when a certain type of blanket is needed, he can point to the 
design, or, if necessary, loan the painting of It to the weaver to whom 
he commits the order. If this particular weaver fails as a dyer of good 
colors, he supplies her with wool he has had dyed by some other woman 
who is a dyeing expert. Thus he gains the best kind of work, and can 
supply anything makcable by a Navaho weaver, with sureness, accuracy. 



RELIABLE DEALERS IN NAVAHO BLANKETS 205 

skill, and speed. That his name is synonymous with honorable and upright 
dealing goes without saying, for no man can stand as he does with the 
Navahos without being — as the Indians would say — "a walker on the 
beautiful way." 

Another Gallup, N. M., firm that Is perfectly reliable and trust- 
worthy Is the C. C. Manning Company. In 1894 Mr. Manning went to 
the Navaho Indian Agency, at Fort Defiance, as Assistant Engineer for 
Government Irrigation Work that was being done for the benefit of the 
Navahos. In the spring of 1896 he left the government service and 
bought out the reservation trading store of W. E. Weidemeyer, where he 
remained in daily contact with the Navahos for the space of ten years. In 
1906 he sold out and went for a visit to California and southern Arizona, 
but in three years, longing for the largeness of his Indian trading life, he 
returned and repurchased his old store. Ever since then he has been 
engaged In the Navaho trade, though now his company transacts a tre- 
mendous wholesale business with the various traders on the reservation, 
having their large warehouses, etc., at Gallup. During the year 1911-12 
they found sale for Navaho blankets for which they had traded to the 
amount of forty thousand dollars, independent of the blankets sold by 
the manager of their Navaho Reservation store, who finds his own market 
and never sends his supply in to be disposed of by the firm. 

While the Manning Company does an almost exclusively wholesale 
business, they assure me that if any would-be purchaser wishes to write to 
them they will either send such blankets as may be desired, or will refer 
the purchaser to one of the Indian traders with whom they do business, 
whose word and goods may be relied upon. To those, however, who 
wish to purchase in quantity, the Manning Company offer special facilities. 
Trading over a large part of the reservation and buying from a score 
or more of those who deal actually with the Indians they secure a wide 
variety of styles, weaves, and designs that make their stock an especially 
desirable one to select from. In addition to this, there are a number of 
first-class weavers who have learned that this company Is willing to pay 
them a high price for every superior blanket that is brought direct to them ; 
hence they secure quite a number of extra choice specimens in this manner. 

A Navaho trader who makes a specialty of a mail-order business in 
the finer grades of Indian blankets, and whose statements as to the quality 
of his goods may be implicitly relied upon. Is J. A. Molohon, Crystal, 
N. M. Mr. Molohon Is the successor by purchase of J. B. Moore's trad- 
ing-store, from which a large number of excellent blankets have been 
sent out to satisfied customers. Some seventeen years ago Mr. Moore 
entered the Indian trading business and in his district began to do for the 
Navahos what Messrs. Hubbell and Cotton had done In theirs. Little 



2o6 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

by little he succeeded in improving the products of their looms by intro- 
ducing new ideas in preparing and dyeing the yarn. He established rea- 
sonably fixed grades of qualities in which he did an extensive business. 
This was no easy task. The Navaho woman is as conservative in many 
respects as is her husband. She changes slowly. As I have shown else- 
where, when Mr. Moore entered the field, the Navaho blanket had dete- 
riorated and was a discredited product, undesirable, and largely unsalable. 
Two gigantic barriers, therefore, had to be broken down, the one on the 
side of the Indians, the other on the part of the American purchaser. It 
required courage, persistence, and knowledge of the Navaho to change the 
weavers' methods, and several years passed ere he secured blankets of the 
quality he desired. His methods were an innovation. To send the wool 
away and have it scientifically and thoroughly cleansed and prepared for 
dyeing was a great trouble and expense, but it paid in the end. 

Soon a few of the more thorough weavers saw how much better the 
dye would " bite in " to this well-scoured wool. They were thus induced to 
a more thorough cleansing of their wool, and when they received a higher 
price for the blankets made of such wool, they began to fall in line with 
Mr. Moore's further suggestions for the improvement of their work. The 
result is the blankets from the Crystal weavers are highly desired, and as 
Mr. Molohon is equally particular with his predecessor, the business has 
continued to be carried on in the old and well-established lines. The 
Molohon Company offers no cheap grade blankets. They have only two 
grades or classes. The first is their " ER-20 " grade, which is made entirely 
from specially scoured wool, dyed in the yarn with special dyes and care- 
fully prepared mordants, so that the fastness and truth of the colors is 
assured. The wool is then issued to the weaver who has proven her 
capacity, with general instructions as to the kind of blanket desired. The 
design is left largely to her own will, thus ensuring the individual char- 
acter so much desired. These blankets vary in size from 45x76 inches 
to about 6x9 feet, but blankets of any size may be ordered with the 
assurance of receiving exactly the quality desired. 

The Molohon second, or "T-XX" grades, are selected blankets 
from those brought In by the Indians, where there has been no special 
scouring or dyeing of the wool under the trader's personal supervision. 
Most of these blankets come from weavers who are earnestly striving to 
get into the Molohon class of first-class weavers, hence they have an in- 
centive to do their.utmost. This results in a higher class blanket than that 
secured by the indifferent trader. 

The address of J. A. Molohon & Co. is Crystal, N. M. 

Another of the oldest and most reliable of Indian traders is the C. H. 
Algert Company, of Fruitland, N. M. They are wholesale dealers only 



RELIABLE DEALERS IN NAVAHO BLANKETS 207 

and have a large trade all over the United States. I first made the acquaint- 
ance of Mr. Algert over twenty years ago when he was the Indian trader 
at Tuba City, Ariz. Our acquaintance ripened into friendship, and ever 
since I have had more or less continuous dealings with him. A few years 
ago he toolc into partnership his former clerk and assistant, June Fautz, 
and they removed to Fruitland, N. M., where their business has consid- 
erably enlarged as the years have gone by. The C. H. Algert Company 
does an almost exclusive business with the traders of the northern part of 
the Reservation, extending clear across from New Mexico to California 
and to the borders of southern Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. 

Their specialty is a good, reliable grade of standard, native wool, 
undyed, and outline blankets, with a steady supply of the extra qualities 
of all these types. It was from Mr. Algert that I bought my first native 
wool undyed blankets, especially those in the grays, blacks, and whites, 
and while he was at Tuba 'City, he was most conscientious, constant, and 
thorough in urging upon the weavers of his district the improvement of 
this class of weave. Indeed, he has done more to promote the general 
improvement of the art in this line than any other trader. On several 
occasions I have been present at his trading-post when he has gathered 
together as many as two or three thousand Navahos, not only to give 
them a good time in their feats of horsemanship, etc., but also to foster 
among the weavers a desire to improve the quality of their blankets. 

Since his removal to Fruitland, he has discontinued immediate deal- 
ings with the Indians and deals only with the traders, supplying them with 
everything that they need in exchange for the blankets, etc., sent in. His 
firm handles thousands of dollars worth of blankets each year, and is 
known for its square and honorable dealing. 

Elsewhere I have referred to the endeavors made by the Hyde 
Exploring Expedition to improve the condition of the Navahos and 
further their interests by pushing the sale of their blankets on a large 
scale. Their successor was the Benham Indian Trading Company, which 
finally concentrated all its efforts in its chief store on South Broadway, 
Los Angeles, California. For many years it conducted a successful 
business here, the direction of affairs being in the hands of Mr. A. M. 
Benham, whose responsible assistant was Mr. L. L. Burns, who held 
an interest in the firm. At Mr. Benham's death some two or three 
years ago, Mr. Burns bought out all other interests and organized the 
Burns Indian Trading Company, which has carried on the work of its 
predecessors on the same high plane. Like Fred Harvey, Mr. Burns 
has scoured the country for old and rare blankets of all good weavers, 
and many collections owe some of their most valued specimens to him. 
Especially in rare bayetas and old Chimayos has he been successful. 



2o8 INDIAN BLANKETS AND THEIR MAKERS 

Mr. Burns has also accomplished for the Chimayo blanket what Mr. 
Hubbell and Mr. Molohon are doing for the Navaho. He brought 
several Chimayo weavers and their looms to Los Angeles and there per- 
sonally supervised their work. The Burns Company deals in every kind 
of genuine Indian goods, and sells at both wholesale and retail. It also 
makes a specialty of mail orders. 

Recently Mr. Burns has found a new and congenial field for his 
laboriously-acquired Indian knowledge. As is well known, Los Angeles 
is the home of moving picture film makers. Thousands of feet of Indian 
plays are made monthly. Mr. Burns has organized the Western Costume 
Company, and he and his associates give expert technical advice and 
practical assistance in the correct costuming and staging of Indian and 
western plays. They have a large stock of blankets, squaw dresses, etc., 
such as are described in these pages, and it is an interesting fact to note 
the development of this new industry in connection with Indian Blankets 
and Their Makers. 

In conclusion: While mine is a busy life and I have no such com- 
modity as "spare time," I shall always be glad to place my services 
at the disposal of any one interested in securing a collection of Navaho 
blankets of a superior order. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Alaskans and blanket weaving, is, i6 
Algert. C. H., Company, i6o; reliable dealers, 

206, 207 
American Museum of Natural History, N. Y., 

collection of blankets, 32, 35, 37. 156, 164; 

specimen of weaving in colors, 80 
Amerinds. VI. 9, 17 
Aniline dyes and dyeing, 48, 55, 65, 66 

Baize, English (Spanish baycta), 26-28 

Bartlett, John Russell, on the Navaho and his 
blanket, 22 

Basketry, origin of, VII ; baskets as human 
documents, 72, 73; two-faced baskets, 114; 
Kachina baskets, 139 

Bayeta and the bayeta blanket, 25-36, 39, 40, 
51; dyeing, 29, 30; squaw dresses, 39, 40, 
117, 118 

Belts, garters, and hair bands. 130-135 

Benham, A. M., and J. W., Indian traders, 
5-3. 207 

Berard, Father, quoted on blanket designs. 72, 
120, 126-129; classifies names of blankets, 
116-119; different styles of blanket-weaving, 
III, 112; blessing of the liogan. 6; native 
dyes and dyeing. 66-69; Navaho name. 182, 
183 ; Navaho census. 181 ; Navaho religion, 
184-18S; present-day blankets. 59, 155 

Birth and growth of the art of Navaho 
blanket-weaving, 8-19 

Blankets and aniline dyes, 48, 55, 65. 66; 
bayeta. 25-36. 39, 40. 51; ■'chief's." ;^2. 36; 
Chimayo. 167-173; classification. 143-158; 
cleaning. 174; color significance and symbol- 
ism, 60-64; common, 147-149; designs, ori- 
gin, and symbolism, 72-102, on modern 
blankets, 120-129, 146; dyes and dyeing, 
28-33, 39, 65-71, 170; early history of the 
Navaho. 20-24; extras, 153-155; German- 
town, 157, 158; human documents, 72. 80, 
145; imitation, 159-163; Kachina, 139-142; 
names of, 116-119; native wools, old style, 
37, 38; native wools, fancy, 155-157; native 
wools, undyed, 151-153; outline. 136-138; 
output, Vlil, 58; rabbit-skin, 16; reliable 
dealers, 202-208; song of blessing of, 45; 
squaw dress, 39-44; standard. 149-151 ; 
styles of weaving. 110- 112; symbolism in, 
60-64, 72-81; two-faced, 113-115; unique in 
the world, VI; variety of Navaho, 146; Yci, 
139-142 
Blanket-weaving, bayeta, 25-36; birth and 
growth of the art, 8-19, 112; designs in, 
72-102, 146. in modern work, 120-129; list 
of designs, 126-129; deterioration of the 
art, 46-50; importance of weave, 145; im- 
proving the art, 51-59: looms described, 
103-108; mythical origin of, 10; outline 

21 



blanket work, 136; styles of weaving, 110- 
112; warp and woof quality, 143, 144; 
weaver at work, 103- 119, 145 

Blatchley, Prof. W. S., on color symbolism, 
60, 61 

Books and periodicals referred to, American 
Anthropologist, 112; Anthropology (Tay- 
lor), 132; Antiquities of Mexico (Kings- 
borough), 132; Commerce of the Prairies 
(Gregg), 20; Doniphan's Expedition 
(Hughes), 21; Ethnologic Dictionary, An 
(Franciscan Fathers), 2, 7, 10, 181, 183; 
Indian Basketry (James), VI; Indians of 
the Painted Desert Region (James), i6(); 
Land of Sunshine, The (Luminis), 25. 26; 
Memorial to the King of Spain (Bena- 
vides), 182; My Friend the Indian (.Mc- 
Laughlin), 175; Navaho and His Blanket 
(Hollister), 161; Navaho Legends (Mat- 
thews), 183; Night Chant, The (Mat- 
thews), 61, 63, 76, 140, 183, 185; Old 
Franciscan Missions of New Mexico, Ari- 
zona, and Texas (James), 14; Personal 
Narrative of Explorations and Incidents in 
Texas and Neiv Mexico ( Bartlett ), 22 ; 
Prehistoric Cliff Dwellings of the American 
Southivest, The (James), 199; Report on 
the Navalio Country (Simpson), 21 ; Satur- 
day Evening Post, 159; Scribner's Maga- 
zine, 199; Seventeenth Report of the Bureau 
of American Ethnology. 2, 6, 18; Smith- 
sonian Report. 22, 184; Some Strange Cor- 
ners of Our Country (Lummis). 23; Third 
Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. 
12. 103, 113; Eighth Annual Report of the 
Bureau of Ethnology, 13 ; Tivcnty-third 
Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnol- 
ogy, 164 ; Thirty-one Years on the Plains 
and in the Mountains (Drannan), 23; Two 
Thousand Miles on Horseback (Meline), 
177; Woodland Idyls (Blatchley), 61 

" Brazil sticks," 29 

Burns, L. L., and Burns Indian Trading 
Company, employ Chimayo weavers. 173: 
reliable blanket dealers, 207, 208; and 
Western Costume Company, 208 

Carlcton, Gen. J. H., and Navaho campaign, 
177. 178 

Carson. Kit, subdues Navahos, 177, 178. iSi 

Chants and songs, 10, 76. 115, 185-191; dedi- 
cation of hogan, 3-5, 10; song of blessing 
of the blanket, 45 

" Chief's " blankets, 32, ,36 

Chimayo blanket, the, ri6, 167-173; Chimayo 
settlements, 167-169 

Classification of blankets, 143-158 

Cleaning the Navaho blanket, 174 



212 



INDEX 



Cliff dwellings, 12, 80, 198, 199 

Color, signiticance and symbolism of, in 

Navaho blankets, 60-64; importance of, 144 
Commercialization of Navaho weaving art. 47 
Cotton, C. N., Indian trader, 47, 48, 203; 

Company, reliable blanket dealers, 203, 204 
Cotton, early fabrics. 12; warp, effect of 

introduction on blanket-weaving, 48, 49; 

debarred, 52 
Common blankets, 147-149 

Davis, Cassidy. painting of blanket, 108 

Dene, ethnological name of the Navahos, 16 

Designs on blankets, 72-102; list of prin- 
cipal ones, 126-129; on modern Navaho, 
120-129; variety, 146 

Deterioration of the art of Navaho blanket- 
weaving, 46-50 

Dine (see Dene), 182, 183 

Doniphan, Col. A. W., campaign against the 
Navahos, 21, 177 

Drannan, W. R, describes Navaho blanket, 
23 . 

Dubois, A. W., in Navaho religious cere- 
mony, 189 

Dyes and dyeing, 28-32, 33, 39; with aniline 
or native dyes, 48, 55, 65-71 ; Chimayo, 170 

Emory, Major, visits New Mexico, 21 ; on 

Navaho raids, 176 
"Extra" quality blankets, 153-155 

Fautz, June, with the C. H. Algert Company, 
207 

Fewkes, Dr. J. Walter, reproductions of pot- 
tery designs of Sikyatki, 18, 80-102 

Franciscan Fathers, view of Navaho blanket, 
VI ; enter New Mexico, 13 ; expelled by 
Pueblos, 14 

Gates, P. G., collection of blankets. 36 
Germantown yarn, effect on Navaho blanket 

weaving industry, 46, 47, 51; blankets, 157, 

158 
Gregg, Josiah, quoted on the Navahos and 

their blankets, 20 

Harvey, Fred, blanket trade, 52, 56, 153; 
collection of blankets, 32, 33, 42, 54, 137, 
152; old Chimayos, 171; reliable dealer, 
202, 203; his weavers, 118, 121, 157, 164 

Hogan, 1-7, 45, 156, 191 ; song of blessing or 
dedication, 3-6 

Hodge, Dr. F. W., and reproduction of pot- 
tery designs, 80-102 

Hollister, Gen. U. S., on mother-in-law 
taboo, 116; on imitation blankets, 161-163; 
on Navaho religion, 184 

Holmes, W. H., quoted on fabrics and 
pottery, 12 

Hopi, basketry, 19; land occupied by Nava- 
hos, 175; pottery decorations, 18, 80-102; 
religious beliefs, 45; and the Spaniards, 13; 
squaw dresses, 42, 43, 164; Tewas assist, 
43 ; weavers, 165 

Hubbell, John Lorenzo, collection of blan- 
kets, 40, 108, 125; Indian trader, 47, 48; 
reliable blanket dealer, 203, 204 ; his weav- 
ers, 117, 121, 125, 204, 208 



Hubbell and Cotton, blanket trade, 47, 52, 

160, 205 
Hughes, J. T., his Doniphan's Expedition 

quoted, 21 
Hyatt, B. F., post trader, 48 
Hyde, B. T. Babbitt, 49 
Hyde Exploring Expedition, 49, 50, 58, 207 

Imitation Navaho blankets, 159-163 
Improving the art of blanket-weaving, 51-59 

James, George Wharton, collection of blan- 
kets, 32, 34, 3y, 38, 41, 42, 124, 125, 137, 
i3o> 150, 156, 165, 170, 171 

Kachinas, 19; baskets, 139; blankets, 139-142 
Kearny, Colonel, and New Mexico, 176 

Land of the Navaho, 196-201 

Letherman, Dr.. on the bayeta, 26; Navaho 
blanket, 22; Navaho religion, 184, 185; re- 
garding sheep, 56 

Lqckwood, Col. J. S., and wool and blanket 
improvement, 66 

Loom described, 103-108, no, 114; for belts, 
130-132, 135; early Pueblo and Navaho, 16 

LuiTimis, Charles F, rarity and value of 
Navaho blankets, 23, 24; the bayeta, 25, 
26; Indian stories, 176 

MacGinnies, William, blanket design, 141, 
142, and collection, 141, 142 

McLaughlin, Inspector James, and the Utes, 
175 

Manning Company, The, blanket designs, 154 ; 
reliable dealers, 205 

Matthews, Dr. Washington, collection of 
blankets, 36, 149, 156, 158; describes 
Navaho loom, 103-107; diagonal weaving, 
III; belt-weaving methods, 130-132; blan- 
ket border, 151; Navaho religion, 184-190; 
native dyes and dyeing, 67, 68; his The 
Night Chant, 76; sand- or dry-painting, 
75-78, 139, 141; two-ply or two-faced weav- 
ing, 112-114; sex symbolisms, 61, 62; varie- 
gated patterns, no, ni; word Navaho, 183 

Meline, J. H., quoted, 177, 178 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, N. Y., collec- 
tion of blankets, 35 

Mindeleff, Cosmos, account of hogan dedica- 
tion ceremonies, 2-6 

Molohon, J. A., blanket trader, 54, 121, 153, 
208; reliable dealer, 205, 206 

Moore, J. B., blanket trader, 53, 121, 205; 
and improvement of the art, 206 

Mordants, 28. 67-71 

Mother-in-law taboo, 116 

Names of blankets, 116-119 

Native wool blankets, undved, 151-153; fancy, 
155-157 

Navaho, ancestry, 15, 16, 20, 65; business 
ability, 54; chants, 76; country, 103; cost 
to government, 179; character, 175; hogan 
homes, 1-7, 45, 103; inventive genius, 146, 
147; legends of art of weaving, 10; land 
of, 196-201 ; loom an original invention, 
n4; mother-in-law taboo, n6; numbers. 



INDEX 



213 



26, 181, 182; pinion nut crop, 197, 198; re- 
ligion and religious life, 45, 63, 74, 139, 140, 
184-195; sheep-raising and care, 10, 11, 13, 
>5. 56, 57. 108, 109, 200, 201; spelling and 
pronunciation of name. VIII, 182, 183; 
subjugation of, 176-179; weaver at work, 
16-19, 103-119; woman's position, 115, 116. 
See Blankets, Blankct-'ju'caving, and Squavj 
dresses 

New Mexico, home of the Navahos, 20; 
conquest of, 21; Spanish invasion, 13; 
raids by Navahos, 176. 177 

Noel, Hamilton, and lightning-design blanket, 
122 

Outline blanket, 136-139 
Output of blankets. VIII, 58 

Peabody, Mrs., and outline blanket, 136 
Pendleton Woolen Mills, on machine-weaving 

limitations. 162, 163 
Pepper, Dr. G. H., on native dyes and dyeing, 

69-71 ; scarcity of water and supply. 57. 58 
Pinion nut. Navaho crop, 197, 198 
Pottery, Hopi, Navaho, 18; Pueblo designs, 

80-102 
Pueblo Indians, early dress, 12, 13; and the 

Spaniards, 13. 14; squaw dresses, 39-44; 

weavers, 15-18, 112, 164-166 

Reliable dealers in Navaho blankets, 202-208 

Religious life of the Navahos, 45. 61, 63. 74, 

78, 79, 184-195 ; sacred mountains, ig6, 197 

Sand-paintings, 62. 74. 75-78 

Serapes, 20, 26. 113. 171 

Shaman, medicine man. 10, 41, 62, 74, 76. 77, 
139; of the Pueblos, 13 

Sheep and shepherds, 10, 11, 13, 15; herding, 
200. 201 ; improving the breeds. 57 ; num- 
bers and care. 56, 57; washing and shear- 
ing. 108, 109 

Shelton. Supt. W. T.. and Indian education. 
180, 181: Indian blanket fairs, 59; water 
supply, 58 

Sherman. General, and Navaho treaty, 179 

Shufeldt, Dr. R. W., describes belt-weaver's 
work. 133. 135 

Sikyatki pottery designs, 80-102 



Simpson, Lieut. J. H., Report on the Navaho 

country, 21. 2Z 
Simpson. Richard T. F., Indian trader, 140 
Song of Blessing of the Blanket. 45 
Songs of the Navahos. See Chants 
Spaniards enter New Me.xico, 13 ; expelled, 

14 
Squaw dresses, t,^, 39-44, 118 
Standard blankets, 149-151 
Stephen. A. M.. story of Tewas and Hopis, 

43; describes belt-weaving, 132, 133 
Stevenson, Colonel, and The Sight Chant, 

141 
Stevenson, Mrs. Matilda Coxe, on Zuni 

weaving, 41, 164 
Symbolism, in color, 60-64; designs, 72-102 

Tappan, Colonel, and Navaho treaty, 179 
Tewas and Hopis, 43 

Tinnehs of Alaska related to Navahos, 65 ■ 
Twitchell, Colonel, and Navaho treaty, 179 
Two-faced blanket, 113-115 

Vroman. A. C, collection of blankets, 32, 33, 
35. 137 

Water scarcity and supply, 11, 18, 57, 198; 
government wells, 58 

Weaver. Navaho, at work, 103-119 

Weaving, belts, garters, and hair-bands, 130- 
135: deterioration of the art, 46-50; effect 
of nature on designs, 19; first. 8. 10. 12, 15, 
16; improving the art. 51-59; designs in, 
72-102; in modern Navaho blankets. 120- 
129; principal designs. 126-129; variety in, 
146; see Blank et-zi.'ea'i'ing 

Western Costume Company, 208 

Wethcrill, Mrs. John, and sand-paintings, 74, 
142 

Woman, Navaho, position of, 115, 116; the 
weaver, 115 

Wool, scouring, 66; dyeing, 66; washing, 
carding, and spinning, 109, no; output, 
57. 58 

Yei, 76, 77; blankets, 1,39-142 
Yeitso, Navaho legend, 191-195 

Zuni. "Nation of the Willows." 18; religious 
beliefs, 45 ; weaving, 41, 164, 165 



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